NEW DELHI: The first 2+2 meeting between India and Japan will happen in the coming weeks in the run-up to the annual
Modi-Abe summit
scheduled to be held in India in December. The format involves high-level discussions between foreign and defence ministers on strategic and defence issues. India has 2+2 talks with all quad members - US, Australia and now Japan.
Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and his counterpart
Shinzo Abe met in
Vladivostok
on the margins of the
Eastern Economic Forum
on Thursday. India and Japan agreed to further deepen cooperation in the strategic Indo-Pacific region as well as broaden joint projects in Africa, according to foreign secretary Vijay Gokhale.
The two Prime Ministers met for the third time this year after the
G-20 meeting
in Osaka and G-7 summit in Biarritz, France. Gokhale said they reviewed the US-India-Japan trilateral meeting in Osaka - this is the core relationship that powers the Indo-Pacific policies of all three countries.
"Delighted to meet PM Shinzo Abe in Vladivostok. We had in-depth discussions on a wide range of subjects, particularly bettering trade and cultural relations between our nations. Our countries are also working together on various global forums to create a better planet," Modi tweeted.
Briefing the media about the Prime Minister's meeting, Gokhale said the two leaders had a discussion on the Indo-Pacific region. "Prime Minister Abe spoke of a free and open Indo-Pacific and the importance of a bilateral cooperation in that regard, both on economic side and in terms of people-to-people relations to build a secure and prosperous Indo-Pacific region," he said.
"A lot of discussion was on bilateral relationship with particular emphasis on the forthcoming visit of Japanese Prime Minister to India for the Annual Summit that would take place sometime in December. Dates will be negotiated and announced in due course," Gokhale said.
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