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On July 3, DPJ Vice President Seiji Maehara and Next Minister of Foreign Affairs met with Indian Minister of External Affairs Shri S.M. Krishna at party headquarters, and confirmed their intention to further strengthen and develop the relationship between Japan and India. The meeting was also attended by Director General of the International Department Tetsundo Iwakuni, member of the House of Representatives Hideo Hiraoka and member of the House of Councillors Koushin Fujitani for the DPJ.
At the start of the meeting, Maehara welcomed the Indian delegation, and commented, “The relationship between Japan and India is extremely important, and even if there is a change of government there will be no change in that. We will strengthen the relationship more [than the LDP/Komeito government has done.]”
Krishna said that Japan and India shared the same democratic values, and thus had constructed an extremely close relationship. Furthermore, he emphasised that Japan’s ODA had made a huge contribution to India’s development, and explained that currently 2 or 3 huge projects were underway.
He further expressed the opinion that both countries should cooperate and play a constructive role in guiding the regional economy toward the future, and said that it was important to create a balance between growth and environmental protection, while bearing in mind those countries and regions that suffered from poverty.
Hachiro commented that it was important to aim for the signing of an EPA (Economic Partnership Agreement) with India, and expressed the opinion that the fact a bilateral investment agreement remained incomplete was an obstacle to investment by Japanese corporations in India. He added that at the same time economic ties should be strengthened by active investment from the private sector. Hachiro went on to stress that from the point of view of achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons, he would like to make a strong appeal to the international community to engage in the reduction and ultimate abolition of nuclear armaments. He expressed the opinion that with US President Obama’s speech regarding nuclear weapons given in the Czech Republic opportunities for realising this have increased.
Krishna informed the DPJ side that he had been entrusted with a message from Indian Prime Minister Singh, inviting DPJ President Hatoyama to visit India. Maehara responded, “I will inform President Hatoyama of your kind invitation. I think that when he visits your country, he will do so not as leader of the opposition, but as Prime Minister.”
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