‘Had a very good conversation’: PM Modi talks to Japan’s Yoshihide Suga
This marks PM Modi’s first conversation with his new Japanese counterpart. Suga was elected as Japan’s prime minister on September 16 after his predecessor Shinzo Abe resigned last month due to health issues.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday he spoke with his Japanese counterpart Yoshihide Suga and that they agreed stronger ties between the two countries “will help meet the challenges of the current regional and global situation”.
“Had a very good conversation with PM Yoshihide Suga. We exchanged views on the tremendous progress in our relationship in the last few years, and the future direction of our Special Strategic and Global Partnership. @sugawitter,” PM Modi tweeted
“We agreed that stronger India-Japan ties would help meet the challenges of the current regional and global situation. I look forward to working with PM Suga to further strengthen our all-round partnership,” he added.
It was their first phone call since Suga took office last week.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) had said earlier that the two leaders expressed their intention to further strengthen the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between the two countries based upon mutual trust and shared values.
“PM Narendra Modi had a phone call today with Yoshihide Suga, Prime Minister of Japan. The Prime Minister congratulated Prime Minister Suga on his appointment as the Prime Minister of Japan and wished him success in achieving his goals,” the PMO said in a statement.
“The two leaders agreed that the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership has made great advances over the last few years and expressed their intention to further strengthen this relationship based upon mutual trust and shared values,” it said.
They concurred that the partnership between the two countries is even more relevant in today’s times given the global challenges, including that of the coronavirus pandemic. “They emphasised that the economic architecture of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region must be premised on resilient supply chains, and in this context, welcomed cooperation between India, Japan and other like-minded countries,” the statement said.
Prime Minister Modi also extended an invitation to Suga to visit India for the Annual Bilateral Summit, after improvement of the situation caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic, it said.
Friday’s phone call marks the first-ever conversation between the two leaders. In recent days, Suga has called US president Donald Trump and also spoken with South Korea’s Moon Jae In.
Suga, previously Japan’s longest-serving chief cabinet secretary, was elected as the prime minister by the Japanese parliament on September 16, two days after being elected as the leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.
He is also Japan’s first new prime minister in almost eight years after his predecessor, Shinzo Abe, resigned on August 28 due to health reasons.
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