Prime Minister of India - Dr. Manmohan Singh

PM's opening remarks at the Joint Press Interaction with his Japanese counterpart

His Excellency Prime Minister Hatoyama,

Ladies and Gentlemen of the media.

I am delighted to welcome His Excellency Prime Minister Hatoyama to India. We are particularly honoured that Prime Minister Hatoyama decided to visit India so soon after his historic victory in the elections in Japan.

Our relations with Japan enjoy a strong national consensus in India. They are based on shared values and shared interests in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond. We welcome Japan's leadership on global issues which will contribute to world peace and prosperity.

In our discussions today, we undertook a comprehensive review of our bilateral cooperation, as well as of major regional and international issues. These discussions have given me renewed confidence about the future of our relations and of the enduring nature of the Strategic and Global Partnership that we established in December 2006.

The economic partnership between India and Japan is the bedrock of our relations. But over the last few years, we have significantly diversified our relations in the areas of defence, security and counter-terrorism. There is closer cooperation on international issues. As agreed upon at the last India-Japan Summit in October 2008, we have finalized an Action Plan to advance our security cooperation.

I conveyed to Prime Minister Hatoyama that India welcomes Japanese investments into India, and that the growth of our economy offers huge opportunities to substantially increase our trade and economic cooperation. In particular, there is great scope for expansion of cooperation in the areas of urban infrastructure, high technology, and renewable and energy efficient technologies.

We have decided to expedite our negotiations on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in order to conclude a high quality and balanced agreement. We are hopeful that this can be completed in time for the next Annual Summit meeting.

We agreed on the early implementation of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Project between Mumbai and New Delhi. We have decided to finalise all details for Phase I within the next few months, so that actual implementation can begin in 2010 itself. We also endorsed the plan to take the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project forward. Both these projects will have a significant positive impact on the Indian economy and on the scale of our economic cooperation with Japan.

Prime Minister Hatoyama and I endorsed the importance of enhancing educational, cultural and scientific and technological exchanges. We are grateful to Japan for its assistance and collaboration in the development of the Indian Institute of Technology at Hyderabad, on which there has been concrete progress.

Prime Minister Hatoyama and I also discussed global and regional issues, including the G-20 process, the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference, energy security, terrorism, reform of the United Nations Security Council and nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. We reviewed developments in the Asia-Pacific region, and agreed that the cause of peace and stability would best be served by creating an open and inclusive architecture in this region. I welcome Prime Minister Hatoyama's initiatives on the Asian Economic Community.

Prime Minister Hatoyama's visit has succeeded in taking our partnership to a new stage. This is reflected in the Joint Statement that we have just signed. I look forward to working with the Prime Minister in the years ahead to consolidate the gains of our partnership.

Thank you.