High Commission of India

Gaborone, Botswana

Your Excellency, Prime Minister Kishida,

Delegates of Both Countries,

Friends from Media,

Namaskar!

At the outset, I extend a warm welcome to Prime Minister Kishida and his delegation to India. Prime Minister Kishida and I have met several times in the last one year. And each time, I have felt his positivity and commitment towards India-Japan relations. And therefore, his visit today will be very useful to maintain the momentum of our cooperation.

Friends,

Our meeting today is special for another reason as well. This year India is chairing the G20, and Japan is chairing the G7. And therefore, this is the perfect opportunity to work together on our respective priorities and interests. Today, I explained in detail to Prime Minister Kishida about the priorities of India's G20 Presidency. Giving voice to the priorities of Global South is an important pillar of our G20 Presidency. We have taken this initiative because we are a culture that believes in "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", and in taking everyone along.

Friends,

The India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership is based on our shared democratic values, and respect for the rule of law in the international arena. Strengthening this partnership is not only important for both our countries, it also promotes peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. In our conversation today, we have reviewed the progress made in our bilateral relations. We exchanged views on Defence Equipment and Technology collaboration, Trade, Health, and Digital partnership. We also had a fruitful discussion on the importance of reliable supply chains in semiconductor and other critical technologies. Last year, we had set a target of Japanese investment of 5 trillion yen in India in the next 5 years, that is, three lakh twenty thousand crore rupees. It is a matter of satisfaction that there has been good progress in this direction.

In 2019, we had set up the India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership. Under this, we are increasing the competitiveness of Indian industry in areas such as logistics, food processing, MSME, textiles, machinery and steel. Today we also expressed happiness over the activeness of this partnership. We are also progressing fast on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail. I am also happy that we are celebrating 2023 as the Year of the Tourism Exchange. And for this we have chosen the theme "Connecting Himalayas with Mount Fuji".

Friends,

Today, Prime Minister Kishida extended an invitation to me for attending the G7 Leaders' Summit to be held in Hiroshima in the month of May. I thank him from the bottom of my heart for this. A few months later in September, I will have the opportunity to welcome Prime Minister Kishida to India again for the G20 Leaders' Summit. May this series of our talks and contacts continue like this, and may India-Japan relations continue to touch new heights, with this wish, I conclude my speech.

Thank you very much.

DISCLAIMER - This is the approximate translation of Prime Minister's remarks. Original remarks were delivered in Hindi.