On December 28, 2012, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held telephone talks with H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India.

1. At the outset, Prime Minister Singh welcomed Prime Minister Abe for taking office and stated that he looked forward to work with Prime Minister Abe once again toward further development of the Japan-India "Strategic and Global Partnership."
   
   
2. In response, Prime Minister Abe stated that he believed "Japan-India relationship is blessed with the largest potential for development of any bilateral relationship anywhere in the world," which was in his address to the Indian Parliament during his visit to India in 2007.
   
   
3. Both Prime Ministers shared the view that Japan and India were important strategic partners for each other, and that it is crucial for them to strengthen the partnership in diplomatic and security fields and further enhance the economic ties.
   
   
4. Noting that the annual mutual visits between the Prime Ministers of Japan and India had been agreed upon by himself and Prime Minister Abe, Prime Minister Singh stated that although his visit to Japan in November had been cancelled, he looked forward to travel to "a beautiful country, Japan" at the earliest possible date, being aware that it was his turn to pay a visit.
   
   
5. Furthermore, Prime Minister Abe talked about North Korean issues, and Prime Minister Singh showed his understanding.