India and Japan: On the path to holistic development
The 12th India-Japan Annual Summit held on 14th September in Gandhinagar, Gujarat witnessed the coming together of two strong leaders – Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Shinzo Abe.
On the occasion of the meet, Japanese Prime Minister gave a special message focusing on the relationship and potential the countries share. In his message, he spoke about a new era in Japan-India relations as well as the way forward to achieve prosperity for both countries. He said that both countries give importance to common universal values and strategic interests and as Asian democracies, the two countries are blessed with the largest potential in the world.
The Japanese Prime Minister appreciated the Indian Prime Minister for his outstanding ability to get things done and said that both India and Japan will lead the way for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and the world.
Recalling his visit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a Japanese Shinkansen rolling factory, the Japanese Prime Minister stressed that economic cooperation is the cornerstone of India and Japan’s relationship. During the visit, the Indian Prime Minister was introduced to Japan’s ingenious technology, which now will be the primary technology used for the path-breaking Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project.
In his message, the Japanese Prime Minister also mentioned that Japan’s outstanding technology will aid India’s rapid growth in the railway sector and also economically. He also mentioned that Japanese companies with Indian establishments are growing at a pace of 100 companies per year and as of October 2016, there were 1305 such companies in the country. Japanese and Indian technicians working side by side on manufacturing floors to develop India’s industries are supporting and strengthening India-Japan at the grassroots level. The Prime Minister further stressed that Japan’s technology and India’s human resources combined will unlock the potential of ‘monozukuri’ (manufacturing) and also explore the potential of ASEAN, Africa and the rest of the world.
The Japanese Prime Minister concluded with a reference to the familiarity the two countries share. From yoga, cinema, Buddhism to Indian cuisine, he said that Japan has the deepest respect for India’s significant contributions. Recounting his visit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Varanasi, he said that he had the opportunity of witnessing a magical ritual on the banks of the Ganges. He also compared the friendship between the countries to the currents of the Ganges which flows ceaselessly through history. The Japanese Prime Minister signed off with the hope of bringing bilateral relationships to full bloom and also making way for a new era in the relations between the two countries.
The annual summit between the two countries proposes to review the progress in multifaceted cooperation under the framework of ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ and also plan a way forward.
The two leaders attended the historic commencement of the work of India’s first ever high-speed rail project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. The Bullet Train project is expected to significantly reduce travel time between the two cities and is a huge step forward for India’s developing infrastructure. The Government has taken various steps to strengthen India’s infrastructure and bring it on par with global standards. This collaboration with Japan will not only aid these efforts but will also open doors for more such collaborative efforts for holistic, global development.
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