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Prime Minister Visits Indonesia, India and Malaysia
(India)
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 [Pool photo] |
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Click photographs to enlarge
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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited India, the second country to visit during his tour.
After arriving at the capital New Delhi, Prime Minister Abe was joined by Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister of India, to receive courtesy calls from the members of the business missions from Japan and India, including Mr. Fujio Mitarai, the Chairman of the Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), accompanying Prime Minister Abe on the tour. Afterwards Prime Minister Abe attended two events: a welcome ceremony held by an assembly of groups for promoting Japan-India friendship and a meeting by the heads of Japanese and Indian universities. On the following morning of August 22, Prime Minister Abe attended a welcome ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the presidential residence, after which he offered a wreath at Raj Ghat. Following that, Prime Minister Abe delivered a policy speech entitled "Confluence of the Two Seas" at the Parliament of India. In his speech, while recalling historical bonds maintained by Japan and India, Prime Minister Abe also looked to a "broader Asia," an integration of East Asia and South Asia, in which he called for Japan and India to work together as key players. After the speech, Prime Minister Abe paid a courtesy call on Ms. Pratibha Devisingh Patil, the President of India. He then received a courtesy call from Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, the Minister of External Affairs. In the evening, Prime Minister Abe held a meeting with Prime Minister Singh, in which the two leaders agreed on many common commitments related to politics and security, economy, human exchanges, and regional and international issues. Prime Minister Abe explained about "Cool Earth 50," Japan's proposal for cutting greenhouse gasses by 50% from the current level by the year 2050, and Prime Minister Singh in response acclaimed the proposal, saying he would like to cooperate with Japan and other countries sharing similar views. Afterwards the two leaders announced a joint statement on the Roadmap for New Dimensions to the Strategic and Global Partnership between Japan and India. This was followed by the signing by the two leaders of two separate joint statements on the environment and energy. After the joint press conference, Prime Minster and Mrs. Abe attended a dinner hosted by Prime Minister Singh. On the following morning of August 23, Prime Minister Abe flew to Kolkata to attend the Opening Ceremony of Japan-India Culture Centre. The Prime Minister then met with Mr. Prashanto Pal, the son of the late Justice Radhabinod Pal, who was one of the judges during the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, before visiting Tagore House, the birthplace of the Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, and Subhas Chandra Bose Museum. Having completed his itinerary in India, Prime Minister Abe left for Malaysia, the next destination of the tour.
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