Courtesy Call on Mr. Seiji Maehara, Minister for Foreign Affairs, by a Goodwill Delegation of Indian Parliamentarians

January 28, 2011
Japanese

On Friday, January 28, eleven members of Goodwill Delegation of Indian Parliamentarians, led by H.E. Mr. Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs of India, paid a courtesy call on Minister for Foreign Affairs Seiji Maehara. An overview of the meeting is as follows.

At the outset, Minister Maehara stated that there was strong bipartisan support in Japan for the strengthening of bilateral relations with India, and that the visit of H.E. Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India, last October, had significantly advanced the relationship, such as through the completion of negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) . Minister Maehara also noted that, as the world had entered an era of multipolaritization with India being an important pole, India has borne a significant responsibility toward the international community. He said that as the world’s largest democracy, India could play an exemplary role in promoting order and stability in the international community.
In response, Minister Bansal stated that despite the cold climate in Japan the Delegation had received very warm hospitality, and that while it was composed of members of nine political parties from different regions, everyone shared the view that India’s relations with Japan should be strengthened. He said that the CEPA opened road for unlimited partnership between Japan and India, and that he would like to further strengthen this partnership, including its economic aspects. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs H.E. Mr. Ashwani Kumar (deputy leader of the Delegation) stated that, based upon Japan-India strategic and global partnership, he would like to deepen Japan-India relationship as much as possible not only in economic areas, but in a variety of fields including security and other matters.

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