Message by Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto

As India celebrates this year the Golden Jubilee of its independence, I take this opportunity to extend my warmest felicitations and best wishes to the government and people of India on this happy occasion. It is indeed an honour for Japan that it has been designated in this Golden Jubilee Year as the Partner Country for the 12th Indian Engineering Trade Fair being held in New Delhi.

Japan-India bilateral relations can trace their roots to the 7th Century when Buddhism from India first reached the shores of Japan, which in the subsequent centuries profoundly influenced Japan, enriching the thought, arts and cultural life of the Japanese people. The cultural ties thus established have continued to nurture friendly relationship and cultural affinity between the peoples even to this day.

The post-war Japan and the newly independent India, which emerged as the two largest democracies in Asia, opened a new chapter in the history of their relationship. Looking back over these eventful five decades, we can note with satisfaction a steady development in Indo-Japanese relations in a period which is marked by dramatic changes in geo-political and economic ciecumstances affecting the world. More recently, the bold steps taken by India since 1991 to liberalize its economy have generated considerable interests in Japan as opening new opportunities and providing big potentials for expanding economic ties between the two countries. I believe that Japan's active participation in IETF will prove an effective catalyst in creating a vibrant partnership between our two countries in the sphere of economy. Befitting the dimensions of our relationship, a variety of cultural events are also planned during the course of the Trade Fair, which will introduce to the Indian people the traditional as well as contemporary faces of the Japanese life and culture.

Through my past visits to India several times, I have a favorable memory of India and its people. When I visited your country as Minister for International Trade and Industry in January 1995, I was strongly impressed by the dynamic changes taking place throughout the country. Given the honour conferred on Japan to participate in the prestigious fair as Partner Country, I would have much wanted to attend the Opening Ceremony myself should it have been possible. However, I truly regret that I cannot do so due to the most pressing parliamentary duties at this particular time of the year at home.

I wish for the success of the Trade Fair and sincerely hope that Japan's large-scale participation will contribute to bringing about an even closer and dynamic partnership across a wide-ranging spectrum of activities between Japan and India. Working together, I trust, Japan and India can play an important role in contributing to peace and prosperity in Asia and in the World.

Ryutaro Hashimoto

Prime Minister of Japan