Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Twitter/@JPN_PMO
New Delhi: Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged over $75 billion for an open and free Indo-Pacific by 2030, promising that the investment will help economies across the region in everything from industry to disaster prevention.
The plan was announced by the Japanese PM during his visit to India.
The over $75 billion plan was unveiled by Kishida while he was delivering a lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs in India’s capital, New Delhi — more than one and a half decades after one of his predecessors, Shinzo Abe, addressed the Indian Parliament and laid the foundation of the concept of Indo-Pacific.
The plan announced in New Delhi is seen as Tokyo’s bid to forge stronger partnerships with countries in South and Southeast Asia to counter China’s growing assertiveness.
The Japanese PM said the new free and open Indo-Pacific plan had “four pillars”: maintaining peace, dealing with new global issues in cooperation with Indo-Pacific countries, achieving global connectivity through various platforms, and ensuring the safety of the open seas and skies.
To achieve this, he pledged $75 billion to the Indo-Pacific by 2030 through private investments and yen loans, and the ramping up of aid through official governmental assistance and grants.
India an ‘indispensable partner’
Describing India as an “indispensable partner”, the Japanese PM said New Delhi’s role is integral for maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.
In an apparent reference to China’s aggression, Kishida called for preventing coercion and upholding a rules-based international order in the Indo-Pacific region.
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasised that the India-Japan global partnership is based on shared democratic values and also advocated for the rule of law in the Indo-Pacific.
“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,” PM Modi said in a media statement.
“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,” the Indian Prime Minister further stated.
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