New Delhi: Japan's foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, is embarking on a two-day visit to India, commencing on Thursday, July 27. During this visit, he is scheduled to meet with his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar. The trip is part of Hayashi's broader six-nation tour across Asia and Africa.

The primary focus of Hayashi's visit centers around prime minister Fumio Kishida's ambitious Indo-Pacific investments plan, initially proposed during Kishida's own visit to India in March. Under this plan, Japan is committed to investing $75 billion in infrastructure and security projects within the Indo-Pacific region by 2030. Additionally, Kishida introduced the Bay of Bengal-North East Industrial Value Chain Concept, aiming to attract manufacturing industries to India's northeastern provinces.

During a speech in New Delhi, Kishida declared Japan's strategic intent to utilize Official Development Assistance (ODA) and expand it in various forms. Furthermore, the Development Cooperation Charter will undergo revisions to establish new guidelines for ODA in the coming decade. Japan seeks to initiate "offer-type" cooperation and introduce a new framework for mobilizing private capital-type grant aid. Simultaneously, the amendment of the JBIC Law will be pursued.

Kishida emphasized Japan's commitment to collaborate with India as a pivotal partner in fostering a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP), extending cooperation to other nations, including those from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The forthcoming discussions between Hayashi and Jaishankar are expected to cover the ongoing economic crisis in Sri Lanka and the G20 Leaders level summit, scheduled for early September. Notably, these two diplomats previously met at the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in March 2023.

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