Quad 2020: EAM Jaishankar holds India-Japan Strategic Dialogue with Japanese counterpart

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Toshimitsu Motegi in Tokyo on October 7, a day after Quad ministerial meeting. Jaishankar took to Twitter to inform that both leaders discussed the cooperation in several fields, including manufacturing, infrastructure and health. 

The minister said that they explored the opportunities of further expansion of collaboration with special focus on development and projects. They also reviewed the current global situation and developments pertaining to UN reform, he added. India and Japan are members of the G4 nations that support each other's bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.

On October 6, Jaishankar participated in the second India-Australia-Japan-USA Ministerial Meeting as the leaders followed up on their discussions on the post-COVID international order. They called for a coordinated response to the challenges including financial problems emanating from the pandemic, said the ministry of external affairs in a statement.

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'Profound transformation'

In his opening remarks, the Union minister told the meeting that the coronavirus pandemic has brought about a profound transformation globally, emphasising the importance of like-minded countries coordinating responses to the various challenges. He said that the objective of the Quad group is to advance the security and the economic interests of all countries having legitimate and vital interests in the region.

“It is a matter of satisfaction that the Indo-Pacific concept has gained increasingly wider acceptance. The Indo-Pacific Ocean’s Initiative that we tabled at the East Asia Summit last year is a development with considerable promise in that context,” he added.

Jaishankar also met his American counterpart, Mike Pompeo, on the sidelines of the Quad ministerial meeting. He tweeted a picture of him and Pompeo after arriving in Tokyo and expressed pleasure over the progress in India-US partnership in various fields. Jaishankar, along with other foreign ministers, met Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga during his two-day visit and spoke about the bilateral and global dimensions of the “special partnership.” 

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