Swaraj to visit Japan for strategic dialogue

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will pay a three-day visit to Japan starting tomorrow during which she will co-chair the strategic dialogue with her Japanese counterpart Taro Kono and review the entire gamut of bilateral ties.

The 9th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue will take place on March 29.

"The two sides will review all aspects of bilateral relations and exchange views on regional and international issues of common interest," a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) statement said.

India and Japan concluded a Special Strategic and Global Partnership during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in 2014. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had also visited India in September 2017.

Bilateral relations have been strengthened in diverse sectors in recent years. India and Japan have a strong cooperation in the areas of nuclear energy, defence and science and technology.

The Mumbai to Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project will be based on the Shinkansen super speed trains in Japan.

Japan is today one of the largest investors in India, with a growing presence in infrastructure projects, manufacturing, financial markets and capacity-building, among others.

According to official figures, Japanese FDI in India during 2016-17 was USD 4.7 billion, an increase of 80 per cent over the last year.

In 2016-17, India-Japan trade reached USD 13.61 billion, showing a decrease of 6.21 per cent over 2015-16, when the total bilateral trade was USD 14.51 billion.

India's export to Japan for 2016-17 was USD 3.86 billion, whereas India's import from the East Asian country for 2016-17 was USD 9.76 billion.