India, Japan working together for free and open Indo-Pacific

Japan has said the Prime Ministers of India and Japan are working together for a free and open Indo-Pacific by launching projects together in the countries in this region.

The Japan ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu said this while delivering opening remarks at the “Regional Connectivity Conference – South Asia in the Indo-Pacific Context” on November 1. The event was co-organized by CUTS International, East-West Center, FICCI and the Government of the United States.

Hiramatsu touched upon how the two leaders have aligned their vision on a free and open Indo-Pacific, while providing concrete examples of projects Japan and India are working on in third countries, such as Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Africa, as well as in India, including its North East Region.

Freshly out of the Japan-India summit meeting of  October 28-29, the ambassador Hiramatsu shared with the audience the result of fruitful discussions between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Abe.

The distinguished speakers of the Opening Plenary included Kenneth I. Juster, the ambassador of the United States to India and Vijay Gokhale, the foreign secretary, ministry of external affairs of India.