Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday arrived in Tokyo to take forward India's negotiations with Japan on an Agreement for Peaceful uses of Nuclear Energy and also conclude talks over a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) covering all aspects of trade in goods, services and investments.
While the two pacts will not be signed now, Singh's Annual Summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan assumes significance in the backdrop of growing friction between Japan and China. Ahead of his departure from New Delhi, Singh said India considers its partnership with Japan as "strategic" and sees it as a factor of peace, stability and prosperity in Asia.
When asked if India would counter China's aggressiveness, he told the Japanese media in an interview that all countries were trying to respond and readjust to global trends towards multi-polarity. "Inter-state relations must be based on the five principles of peaceful co-existence. It is in this context that we also approach our relations with China, with whom we have established a Strategic and Cooperative Partnership," he said.
Acknowledging that Japan is a major economic partner of India, Singh said, "We have embarked upon mega infrastructure projects with Japanese assistance which have the potential of transforming our economy. Our trade and economic relationship is set to enter a new phase. I look forward to detailed discussions with Prime Minister Kan on bilateral, regional and global issues." Japan and India have set up a Project Development Fund to identify projects in the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor for investment by the private sector. Besides, Japan has also evinced interest in the Dedicated Freight Corridor project in India.
Singh will also address business leaders at the Nippon Keidanren, the leading industry association in Japan.
The PM is accompanied by a business delegation led by Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries, who is the co-chair of the Japan-India Business Leaders' Forum.
In his second leg, he stops over at Kuala Lumpur in his first bilateral visit to Malaysia. "I will seek new areas of understanding with Prime Minister Dato Sri Najib that reinforce the rich bonds of history and culture that unite us. We share a special bond with Malaysia because it is home to one of the largest People of Indian Origin communities of over two million, and I look to forward to meeting some of them," he said. Singh will also deliver the Khazanah Global Lecture 2010 on India's development experience.
His last stop will be at the 8th India-ASEAN Summit and 5th East Asia Summit in Vietnam. "The scale and range of our interaction with the ASEAN countries has expanded significantly in the last six years. I will discuss with the ASEAN leaders a roadmap for our future cooperation which will be reflected in an India-ASEAN Plan of Action for 2010-2015," he said.
The East Asia Summit represents the desire of the Asia Pacific region to build an open and inclusive architecture of regional cooperation. In its short period of existence, the EAS process has made significant progress. This year's Summit is expected to welcome the US and Russia into the EAS process.
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