TOKYO/NEW DELHI, 14 December 2006 — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday started a visit to Japan to seek support from the major civilian atomic power for the controversial US-India nuclear cooperation pact.
“I look forward to using this visit to elevate India-Japan relations to a qualitatively new level,” Manmohan, who arrived yesterday evening at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, said on leaving New Delhi.
He said: “I see this journey as part of increasing Eastern orientation of India’s foreign policy and our quest for greater engagement with countries in larger East Asian region. Today our bilateral relations are poised to enter a new and dynamic phase, driven by a shared desire to enhance the relationship,” he asserted. “I will have the opportunity to discuss with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ways to reinforce strategic focus in our global partnership, to move to a more comprehensive economic engagement, and to develop mutually beneficial cooperation over the entire range of the relationship, including security and terrorism, energy, transport, science and technology and culture,” Manmohan said. During his visit, he will also inaugurate the “Festival of India in Japan” and participate in an interaction with senior business leaders of Japan.
Earlier, while briefing journalists on the significance of the prime minister’s visit, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon said: “We are working to utilize the visit to further reinforce the strategic orientation of India-Japan global partnership, to move toward a comprehensive economic engagement and to bring about a quantum increase in people-to-people exchanges.”
