New Delhi: Taking forward his engagement in the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi held crucial bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Japan, Yoshihide Suga and Australia, Scott Morrison. As expected, in both the meetings, the situation in Afghanistan and matters related to the Indo Pacific figured prominently.
Both Modi and the Japanese PM reaffirmed their commitment towards a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region.
"They agreed to enhance bilateral security and defence cooperation, including in the area of defence equipment and technologies," an MEA statement said.
Later in the day, at the first in-person Quad Summit to be hosted by US President Joe Biden, all three of them, Modi, Suga, and Morrison, will meet again.
Earlier, PM Modi met chiefs of companies like Adobe, General Atomics, Qualcomm, First Solar, and Blackstone. Cristiano Amon, Shantanu Narayen, Mark Widmar, and Vivek Lall praised the reforms undertaken under Modi's leadership to make business easier in India.
"Talking technology…," the Prime Minister's Office said in a Twitter post after Modi's meeting with Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon and First Solar CEO Mark Widmar.
The Prime Minister highlighted the vast opportunities India offers.
Between Mr Modi and Japanese PM, Mr Suga, it was their first in-person meeting. They warmly recalled their three telephone conversations since September 2020, when Mr. Suga took office as Prime Minister of Japan. Mr Modi thanked Prime Minister Suga for his personal commitment and leadership in the India-Japan Special Strategic & Global Partnership. He also congratulated Prime Minister Suga for successfully hosting the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games amid a global pandemic. The two Prime Ministers welcomed the increasing economic engagement between the two countries. They welcomed the launch of the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) between India, Japan and Australia earlier this year as a collaborative mechanism to enable resilient, diversified and trustworthy supply chains.
At the bilateral meeting with Australia, both the Prime Ministers discussed a broad range of bilateral, regional and global importance issues.
"They noted with satisfaction the regular high-level engagements between the two countries, including the recently held first India-Australia Foreign and Defence Ministers' 2+2 Dialogue," the MEA said.
They expressed satisfaction at the ongoing negotiations on a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA). In that context, they welcomed the visit to India by former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott as PM Scott Morrison's Special Trade Envoy for India. Both the leaders underlined the need for the international community to address the issue of Climate Change on an urgent basis. The two Prime Ministers agreed that as two vibrant democracies in the region, the two countries needed to work closely together to overcome the challenges in the post-pandemic world, among other things, to enhance supply chain resilience. Both of them also lauded the immense contribution of the Indian diaspora to Australia's economy and society, it said.
With the Japanese PM, discussions took place about the India-Japan Digital Partnership, especially in start-ups, and on climate change issues and green energy transition. Modi conveyed he looked forward to welcoming the Prime Minister of Japan to India for the India-Japan Annual Summit in the near future.
Mr Modi also renewed his invitation to Australian Prime Minister Morrison to visit India.
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