By IANS,
New Delhi : Cashing in on the recent launch of nuclear negotiations, India and Japan Saturday will hold their strategic dialogue that will also flesh out the agenda for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Tokyo in October.
Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada touches down Saturday morning on a day-long visit here.
External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and Okada will hold delegation-level talks on a wide range of bilateral issues, including ways to scale up economic ties and the UN reforms.
The two sides will review the progress in the two rounds of negotiations for a bilateral civil nuclear pact to iron out differences.
There is a strong anti-nuclear domestic constituency in Japan that has been critical of starting nuclear negotiations with a country outside the fold of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The mayor of Nagasaki, one of the two Japanese cities hit by atom bombs to extract Japan’s surrender during World War II, made a declaration Aug 9 which calls for the abolition of all nuclear weapons in the world.
However, New Delhi is confident of further progress in negotiations by the time Manmohan Singh visits Tokyo, likely October end.
Nudged by the US and France to fast-track the nuclear pact with India so that General Electric Co and France’s Areva can use Japanese suppliers for nuclear power projects for India, Japan has decided to accelerate the negotiations.
Japanese companies like Hitachi and Toshiba do not want to miss out on India’s growing nuclear pie, estimated to be worth $150 billion.
The two sides will also take stock of negotiations for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and easing of high-tech trade with India.
Issues related to the UN reforms will also figure in discussions, said sources. India and Japan, along with Brazil and Germany, make the G4 grouping seeking permanent seats in a reformed UN Security Council
This will be the first ministerial meeting after their dialogue here July 6 during which the two countries discussed issues ranging from counter-terrorism to the UN reforms and anti-piracy operations.