Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (left) in New Delhi on the 20th. Modi agreed to attend the summit of leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) in Hiroshima in May.

The picture shows Kishida and Modi feasting on Indian civilian food at (Buddha Jayanti Park) in New Delhi.

(Associated Press)

[International News Center/Comprehensive Report] Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida held talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on the 20th, and Modi agreed to attend the G7 Leaders Summit held in Hiroshima, Japan in May.

Kishida has also pledged to invest billions of dollars in aid to Indo-Pacific economies in areas ranging from industry to disaster preparedness, a sign of Tokyo's attempt to forge deeper partnerships with South and Southeast Asian nations as a counterweight to China.

While Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia to promote the Ukrainian peace plan proposed by China, Sino-Russian relations seem to be getting closer. At the same time, experts also pointed out that India, which has always been regarded as more pro-Russian, has begun to turn and clearly oppose Russian aggression. Ukraine.

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Japan holds the rotating presidency of the G7 this year, while India holds the rotating presidency of the Group of Twenty (G20) this year.

According to reports from Reuters, Voice of America (VOA) and Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Kishida and Modi agreed at the Japan-India summit that the two countries will jointly maintain a rules-based international order.

This is Kishida's fourth face-to-face meeting with Modi since he took office as prime minister, and his second visit to India after March last year.

Kishida and Modi agreed that the G7 and G20 should work closely together to address global challenges, including issues such as energy and food supply.

India is known as the representative of emerging market countries and developing countries in the "Global South".

At the joint press conference after the meeting, Kishida referred to India as an "indispensable partner in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)" and said that he would attend the G20 summit in India in September; Modi emphasized that India, Japan Relations between the two countries will continue to open up "new horizons".

Kishida has pledged to provide $75 billion to the Indo-Pacific region through private investment and yen loans by 2030 at the latest, with more official aid and donations to come.

Satoru Nagao, an expert on Indo-Pacific strategy and a researcher at the "Hudson Institute" think tank in Washington, pointed out that India has recently moved closer to Western democracies, hoping to leverage the support of the G7 and the "Quad" (Quad) between the United States, Japan, Australia and India to fight against China.

Nagao Ken pointed out that India is the only country among the four Quad countries that has actually had an armed conflict with China. The G7 is the most discordant country with China, but India is also the host country of the G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) this year, and must maintain a friendly diplomatic attitude with China. Therefore, the other 3 countries in the Quad this year pay special attention to India, because India is A very important part of the anti-China camp.

In addition, India has a close relationship with Russia, imports weapons from Russia, and is cautious about sanctions against Russia by countries headed by the G7.

Ken Nagao pointed out that at the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, India was unwilling to join Western democracies in condemning Russia's aggression, but India's views have changed significantly in the past two years.

Ken Nagao said that India's attitude began to change around August last year. When Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in September last year, he mentioned that "now is not the time for war." Since then, India has started to advocate that the war should end.

Previously, India hoped to balance China and confront Pakistan through friendship with Russia. However, in recent years, the relationship between Russia and China has become closer. In addition, it can be seen from the joint statement issued after the Quad foreign ministers meeting on the 3rd of this month that Quad is trying to By replacing Russia's role in India's foreign policy, India-Russia relations will become more and more distant in the future.