New Japan PM bats for quad in first conversation with Indian counterpart
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The Indian readout of the meet said both leaders "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 newly appointed prime minister of Japan, Yoshihide Suga, batted for Quad grouping in his first conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Quad grouping consists of Japan, India, Australia and the United States.
The Japan government readout about the conversation said that it lasted for 25 minutes.
"Prime Minster Suga stated that he would like to promote cooperation in such multilateral mechanism as Japan-Australia-India-US meetings and the United Nations," it said.
The comments come as Tokyo is all set to host a meeting of Quad foreign ministers in October. This will be the second such meeting. The first happened last year on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Both leaders spoke at length on Indo-Pacific. The Indian readout of the meet said both leaders "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."
During the conversation, the bullet train which Japan is helping to build was also discussed. Ties between the two countries have seen significant development in the last few years, especially under the leadership for former Japanese prime minister Abe Shinzo. He had developed a personal connection with Modi.
PM Modi is the sixth head of India the new Japan prime minister has spoken to. Since taking charge on September 16, 2020, Yoshihide Suga has spoken to US President Donald Trump, Australian PM Scott Morrison, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of the European Council Charles Michel and British PM Boris Johnson.
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