Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi visits Gandhi Smriti

NEW DELHI: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Friday visited Gandhi Smriti here in the national capital and paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi. Hayashi was accompanied by Japanese Ambassador to India Hiroshi Suzuki.

Taking to his Twitter handle, Hiroshi Suzuki shared pictures from their visit to Mahatma Gandhi Smriti. "Visited Gandhi Smriti with H.E. HAYASHI Yoshimasa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. Paid my deepest homage and respect to Mahatma," he said in his tweet. Earlier in the day, Yoshimasa Hayashi took a ride on Delhi metro. For his metro ride, Hayashi was accompanied by security entourage and officials.

In pictures shared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Hayashi could be seen using token to take a metro ride here in the national capital. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi, on Friday attended the India-Japan Forum. In his address, Jaishankar said that Japan has had a huge impact on India and in many ways, Japan is an "exemplary moderniser" for India.

Speaking at the India-Japan Forum in the presence of Yoshimasa Hayashi, Jaishankar said, "What really does Japan means to India? Japan is in many ways the exemplary moderniser... It is an example of relevance. It’s also a country for which there is a lot of goodwill in history. Today under PM Modi, we also had great modernisation. A self-reliant India."

"Japan is a natural partnership in this modernising India. Japan has truly unleashed the revolution in India. The Suzuki revolution! The second revolution was the metro revolution. The third revolution is the high-speed rail in making. The fourth revolution is in critical and emerging technologies and semiconductors," he added.

On Thursday, EAM S Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi emphasized the role of India-Japan partnership in ensuring a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region that is inclusive and rules-based.

EAM Jaishankar, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Thursday held the 15th India-Japan Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi.

The meeting provided an opportunity to review the progress made in the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. The two ministers engaged in comprehensive discussions covering a wide range of issues of bilateral, regional, and global significance, the Ministry of External Affairs announced in a press release.

They highlighted the importance of further strengthening India-Japan partnership based on shared values and principles. The two sides emphasized the importance of achieving the target of JPY 5 trillion Japanese investment in India in the period 2022-27. They explored potential areas of collaboration in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors; resilient supply chains, and digital public infrastructure, among others.

During the meeting, the ministers expressed satisfaction with the strengthening of defence and security cooperation, including regular exercises and staff talks between all three services. In this context, they discussed a way forward to deepen Defense Equipment and Technology Cooperation.​ Both sides exchanged views on regional and global issues of interest, according to MEA press release.

S Jaishankar and Yoshimasa Hayashi also discussed cooperation under multilateral and plurilateral frameworks, including Quad. They agreed on the need for early reforms of the UNSC.

Jaishankar and Hayashi exchanged views on their respective G20 and G7 presidencies.​ Noting the celebration of 2023 as the Year of India-Japan Tourism Exchanges with the theme of ‘Connecting Himalayas with Mount Fuji’, the two leaders acknowledged the importance of people-to-people exchanges.

They also discussed ways to promote the movement of skilled human resources from India to Japan. Yoshimasa Hayashi is in India as part of his visit to Southwest Asia and Africa to bolster relations with a group of nations known as the Global South, NHK World-Japan reported.

Yoshimasa highlighted the importance of listening to the views of the Global South and responding to the needs of the group. This is his second visit to India this year. Hayashi had visited Delhi in March this year to attend the Quad Foreign Minister’s meeting.