India is an “indispensable” partner in achieving a free and open Indo-Pacific and Japan intends to deepen cooperation with New Delhi in all areas to expand the special strategic and global partnership between the two sides, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Friday.
Complimenting India’s focus on the Global South, Hayashi said the call for upholding the free and rules-based international order may sound like a mere slogan unless there is adequate commitment to addressing the challenges facing the developing countries.
The Japanese foreign minister, presently on a two-day visit to Delhi, was speaking at the India-Japan Forum, convened by Ananta Centre and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Hayashi said there has been progress on India-Japan initiatives in new sectors, such as cyber and space, adding that discussions towards the realisation of “substantial cooperation” in the areas of defence equipment and technology are underway.
“At a time when there are many pressing challenges, including Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, Japan and India fully share the necessity to lead the world to cooperation, rather than to division and confrontation,” Hayashi said in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.