Japan never had a head of government so interested in forging close relations with India as the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. As it is an honour that US President George W Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao did not get during their visits to India last year, Prime Minister Abe will address the Indian Parliament on his India visit.

With the aim to strengthen trust and cooperation between the two Asian powers, Mr Abe organised a summit with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during the latter’s visit to Japan on 13-16 December 2006. At the plenary session held afterward, Prime Minister Abe proposed that—given the vast potential for the two countries to develop their economic relations—they begin negotiations on economic partnership, aiming to complete them in substance in approximately two years.

Noting, in particular, the establishment of a Global Partnership in 2000 during Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s visit to India and the decision taken last year during Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s India visit to reinforce strategic bilateral partnership, Dr Singh and Mr Abe recalled the impressive development of Japan-India relations. The two leaders also noted with satisfaction the all-round progress made towards the implementation of the Joint Statement on the ‘Japan-India Partnership in a New Asian Era: Strategic Orientation of the Japan-India Global Partnership’ and ‘Eightfold Initiative for Strengthening Japan-India Global Partnership’, signed between the prime ministers of the two countries on 29 April 2005 in New Delhi and reaffirmed the principles and understandings embodied in the agreement.

In order to maintain the peaceful environment that promotes security and economic growth, Asia’s two powers must build stable relations. Combination of two powers—a strong Japan and an energetic India—is needed to find ways to reconcile their interests in Asia so that they can peacefully coexist and prosper. That’s why Japan and India are bound to become a close strategic partner. In an Asia characterised by a qualitative reordering of power, the direction of India-Japan relationship is set towards close cordial engagement. Neither any negative historical legacy nor any outstanding political issues occured venture in the bilateral linkage of the two countries. The two leaders affirmed that Japan and India are natural partners and the largest and most developed democracies of Asia, with a mutual stake in each other’s progress and prosperity.

Given shared determination to raise bilateral relations to a higher level, the two leaders decided to establish a strategic and global partnership between Japan and India. This will impart stronger political, economic, and strategic dimensions to bilateral relations and will serve long-term interests of both countries by enhancing all round cooperation with greater regional peace and stability. The partnership will involve closer political and diplomatic coordination on bilateral, regional, and multilateral issues, comprehensive economic engagement, stronger defence relations, greater technological cooperation as well as working towards a quantum increase in cultural ties, educational linkages, and people-to-people contacts.