PM Kishida at India-Japan Annual Summit

New Delhi [India], March 19 (ANI): Referring to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday said both Tokyo and Delhi will keep trying to end the war and keep providing support to Kyiv and its neighbours.

Both the leaders also stressed increasing efforts for an open and free Indo-Pacific at a joint press conference after attending the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida held talks on several key issues related to the Ukraine conflict, the situation in Indo-Pacific and measures to strengthen the economic ties between India and Japan.

“I discussed the ongoing conflict in Ukraine with Prime Minister Modi. The whole world has been shaken today due to many disturbances, it’s very important for India and Japan to have a close partnership. We expressed our views, talked about the serious invasion of Russia into Ukraine. We need a peaceful solution on the basis of international law,” the Japanese Prime Minister said during a joint press conference.

“Both our countries should increase efforts for an open and free Indo-Pacific. Japan, along with India, will keep trying to end the war and keep providing support to Ukraineits neighbouring countries,” Kishida added.

Prime Minister Kishida also invited PM Modi for the Quad Summit Meeting in Tokyo.

“We’ll hold the next India-Japan talks as soon as possible. We also welcome the agreement of cooperation in cyber security. India’s a very important partner for Japan… I invite PM Narendra Modi for the Quad Summit Meeting in Tokyo,” he said.

Besides Ukraine, both the leaders discussed measures to ensure a safe Indo-Pacific region.

“The strengthening of Indo-Japan partnership is not only important for the two countries. The relations will boost peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” the Japanese premier said.

“The world is witnessing several events at this point of time. India and Japan share common values like democracy and law of the land. Both the countries should forge a close relationship on platforms like Quad so that we can ensure a free Indo-Pacific region,” Kishida said.

Kishida arrived here in the national capital earlier today for his first visit to India as the head of the Japanese government. Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw received the Japanese Prime Minister at the airport.

The previous India-Japan Annual Summit took place in Tokyo in October 2018.

Last year witnessed increasing bilateral and multilateral engagement between India and Japan and further strengthening of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

The two sides maintained the momentum in ties through virtual meetings and phone calls despite the pandemic. (ANI)