By Ankit Panda
Narendra Modi’s trip to Japan in early September will be one to watch in the Asia-Pacific this year.
As Clint noted in the Tokyo Report, additional details have emerged about the content of the upcoming and much-await summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two countries will formalize a “two-plus-two” bilateral framework between their defense and foreign ministers allowing for improved strategic communication. India and Japan have held such meetings before but on an irregular schedule.
Under a new agreement that the two sides are expected to sign during Modi’s trip to Japan in early September, such exchanges will occur annually. Currently, India and Japan hold prime ministerial summits every year–a rare feature in the foreign policy of each country.
The Modi-Abe summit could be one of the Asia-Pacific regions more important bilateral meetings this year. For one, it will demonstrate the trajectory that India’s new government wants to take with Japan. India and Japan have come together since 2006 when they signed a Strategic and Global Partnership. The strategic convergence between the two countries–one being Asia’s richest democracy and the other its most populous–was largely precipitated by China’s rise.
Read the full story at The Diplomat