Fumio Kishida invites PM Modi to G7 Summit, says ‘together we will bring peace’
2 min read 20 Mar 2023, 05:10 PM ISTThe Japan prime minister arrived in India on a two-day visit. he delivered the 41st Sapru House Lecture on Monday in Delhi
PremiumJapan Prime Minister Fumio is in India on a two-day visit. While addressing reporters here, the Japanese premiere called India an ‘indispensable partner’. He also mentioned that this year India is hosting the G20 presidency while Japan is hosting the G7 Presidency, and hoped that both the countries could come together and work to being about ‘peace and prosperity to the international community’.
On G7 summit
Kishida, who held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also extended formal invite to his Indian counterpart to attend the G7 Hiroshima Summit, scheduled to take place in May this year.
Fumio Kishida said, "This year as Japan hosts the G7 presidency and India hosts the G20 presidency, it's my hope that by working together with ASEAN and many other countries, we will bring peace and prosperity to the international community which faces a time of challenges and the vision for achieving it is FOIP which is based on rule of law."
The two leaders took up the issue of challenges faced by the international community and decided to have close cooperation between G7 and G20 as the two countries are holding the presidencies of the summits, respectively.
India an ‘indispensable partner’ of Japan
"India is an indispensable partner and I believe India and Japan are in an extremely unique position in the current International relations and further in the history of the world. India is the largest democracy in the world. I have always viewed with great respect the way such a huge and diverse country as India has developed a democracy," Japan's Fumio Kishida said while delivering the 41st Sapru House Lecture.
Free and Open Indo-Pacific
Kishida mentioned that Japan will expand cooperation for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific. He recalled that former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in 2016 delivered a vision called Free and Open Pacific (FOIP).
"Japan will expand cooperation for FOIP. Russia's aggression against Ukraine oblige us to face the most fundamental challenge defending peace," Fumio Kishida said.
On Russia-Ukraine war
Japanese PM Fumio Kishida said that the international community has entered an era in which cooperation and division are "intricately intertwined." He condemned the Russian offensive against Ukraine. He said that PM Narendra Modi also told Russian President Putin that "today's era is not of war."
"In the International community, a big balance of power change is occurring, shifting dramatically. The International community has entered an era in which cooperation and division are intricately intertwined," Kishida said.
He further said, “I reiterate that Japan strongly condemns Russia's aggression against Ukraine and will never recognize it. PM Modi too expressed to President Putin that today's era is not of war. Japan opposes any unilateral changes to the status quo by force anywhere in the world."
