EAM Jaishankar to pay bilateral visits to S Korea, Japan from March 5-8

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay bilateral visits to the Republic of Korea and Japan from March 5-8 and will co-chair the 10th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with his Korean counterpart Cho-Tae Yul, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The EAM will first visit South Korea's Seoul from March 5-6 to co-chair the JCM meeting, and the two sides will also exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest, the MEA said in a statement.

"India - Republic of Korea Special Strategic Partnership has expanded to diverse areas of cooperation, which include trade, investments, defence, education, S & T, and culture. The JCM is expected to comprehensively review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and explore avenues for further strengthening it. It will also provide an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," the statement said.

Later, EAM will visit Japan from March 6-8 for the 16th India-Japan Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue with the Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa.

The two Ministers are expected to discuss issues of bilateral, regional and global importance, and exchange views on cooperation for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific, the ministry said.

EAM will also participate in the first Raisina Roundtable in Tokyo. The Roundtable is a key step towards enhancing track 2 exchanges between India and Japan.

He is expected to interact with business leaders, think tanks and academia, building upon strong cultural and people-to-people ties.

"India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership has further deepened in the last decade in areas such as defence and digital technologies, semiconductor supply chains, clean energy, high-speed rail, industrial competitiveness and connectivity. EAM's visit and meetings in Tokyo will provide strategic guidance to our functional cooperation in these areas," the statement read.

"EAM's visits to the Republic of Korea and Japan, two of our major partners, will impart further momentum to bilateral exchanges and set the agenda for future cooperation," it added.