(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday met visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Defence Minister Minoru Kihara to take stock of bilateral defence and security ties, while stressing the Indian-Japanese partnership's role in promoting peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
"Delighted to meet Japanese Foreign Minister @Kamikawa_Yoko and Defense Minister @kihara_minoru ahead of the 3rd India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting. Took stock of the progress made in India-Japan defense and security ties. Reaffirmed the role India-Japan partnership plays in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond," he said in a post on X.
The Japanese Ministers arrived in New Delhi on Monday afternoon to attend the third India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministers' meeting to be held at the Hyderabad House on Tuesday evening.
"India's strategic importance has never been greater than it is now," Kamikawa said just before her arrival in India for talks along with Kihara with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
This is her first visit to India since taking over the post.
"India is located in the centre of the Indian Ocean sea lanes connecting Asia and Africa, and is an important partner in realising a 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' (FOIP). At this meeting, the two ministers will share their views on the strategic environment toward maintaining and strengthening a free and open international order based on the rule of law, and confirm further strengthening of security and defence cooperation," Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said ahead of her New Delhi visit.
Before the 2+2 talks, the Japanese Foreign Minister is also scheduled to hold discussions with EAM Jaishankar, where they will confirm their intention to deepen cooperative relations between the two countries in the areas of bilateral economic and development cooperation, people-to-people exchanges, and in the international arena.
Last month, during his visit to Tokyo for the Quad Foreign Ministers' meeting, EAM Jaishankar stated that India-Japan ties are shaped by the regional and global environment and there is a need for a "contemporary partnership" in an era of new capabilities, new technologies, new challenges and new stresses.
He had, the same day, held talks with Kamikawa where she stated that Tokyo considers New Delhi as an important partner with which it intends to deepen cooperation and "co-create" new solutions through dialogue and collaboration.
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