The Prime Minister (PM) of Japan, Fumio Kishida, was on a two-day visit to India to attend 14th India-Japan summit 2022 on March 19-20,2022 in New Delhi, Delhi. He was invited by the Indian PM Narendra Modi.
- This was Fumio Kishida’s first visit to the country since he took charge of the office last year, and also his first meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- The last India-Japan summit took place in 2018 in Tokyo.
About India-Japan Summit:
The Summit provide an opportunity for both sides to review and strengthen the bilateral cooperation in diverse areas as well as exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. India and Japan have multi-faceted cooperation within the ambit of their ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’.
List of MoUs/Agreements signed during 14th India-Japan Annual Summit 2022:
| Sl. No. | Agreement | Indian signatory | Japanese signatory |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in the field of Cybersecurity for information sharing, capacity building programs and cooperation. | Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary | Satoshi Suzuki, Ambassador |
| 2 | Both sides finalized 7 loans from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) JICA Loans worth Rs 20400 crores for projects in connectivity, water supply and sewerage, horticulture, healthcare, and biodiversity conservation in various States. These are: i.Dedicated Freight Corridor Project (Phase 2) (III) | Ajay Seth Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) | Satoshi Suzuki, Ambassador |
| 3 | Amendment of Article 7 (Exchange of Information) of Implementing Agreement (IA) signed between India and Japan as per Article 13 of India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) | B.V.R Subrahmanyam, Commerce Secretary | Satoshi Suzuki, Ambassador |
| Amendment of Annex 2 (Product Specific rules) of CEPA to allow the fish surimi product of India with the non-originating additive to be considered as an originating good of India. | B.V.R Subrahmanyam | Satoshi Suzuki, Ambassador | |
| 4 | MoC on Decentralized Domestic Wastewater Management was signed to introduce Johkasou technology in India by Japanese companies for decentralized waste water treatment.
| Minister, Jal Shakti | Minister, Environment |
| 5 | Both sides agreed on India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership Roadmap to implement the MoC on India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership that was signed in November 2021.
| Anurag Jain, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) | Vice Minister, METI |
| 6 | MoC signed on Sustainable Urban Development. It Builds on the 2007 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Urban Development to include smart cities development, affordable housing, urban flood management, wastewater management, Intelligent Transport Management System etc. | Minister, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) | Minister, MLIT |
Launch of Clean Energy Partnership:
During the summit, India and Japan launched a Clean Energy Partnership (CEP) for cooperation towards achieving sustainable economic growth, addressing climate change and ensuring energy security. It will also boost job creation, innovation and investments.
- The implementation of the partnership will be undertaken under the existing ‘India-Japan Energy Dialogue’ established in 2007 and will substantially expand the areas of collaboration for mutual benefit like waste management, clean steel, clean construction, electric vehicles, solar energy, and water management, among others.
Japan to invest $42 billion in India over five years
Japan has raise its investment target in India to 5 trillion yen which is around USD 42 billion (Rs 3.20 lakh crore) over the next five years.
- The investment target of 3.5 trillion Japanese yen ($29 billion) announced in 2014 has been achieved in 2014-2019.
Key Points
i.The two Prime Ministers committed to continue further discussions for establishing the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) between India and Japan for the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
ii.Both sides adopted a Japan-India Summit Joint Statement Partnership for a Peaceful, Stable and Prosperous Post-COVID World.
iii.Tokyo has revoked Moscow’s (Russia) most-favoured nation status amid the attacks on Ukraine. It has also limited transactions with Russia’s central banks.
PM Modi gifts Fumio Kishida a sandalwood artifact, Krishna Pankhi
PM Narendra Modi gifted Fumio Kishida a ‘Krishna Pankhi’, a sandalwood artifact by master artisans in Churu in Rajasthan with intricate work with its windows depicting different poses of Lord Krishna, representing love, compassion and tenderness.
- The Pankhi (hand fan) is carved with traditional tools and has a hand carved peacock figure at top, India’s national bird.
- The pure sandalwood grows mainly in the forests of southern parts of India.
Recent Related News:
i.A Record of Discussions (RoD) has been inked between the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Tamil Nadu’s (TN) Health and Family Welfare Department for Prevention and Control of Non- Communicable Diseases (NCD) in TN project.
ii.A Maritime Partnership Exercise was held between Indian Navy (IN) and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF) in the Bay of Bengal in a non-contact mode amid COVID-19. The Indian side was represented by Indian Naval Ships (INS) Shivalik and INS Kadmatt while JMSDF Ships Uraga and Hirado the participated from Japanese side.
About Japan:
Currency– Japanese Yen
Capital– Tokyo
