NEW DELHI: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will go to Japan and China from August 29 to September 1. The four-day tour, which is getting a lot of attention, is anticipated to deepen India’s strategic ties in Asia and deal with important bilateral and regional concerns.
Japan is the first stop.
The first place PM Modi will go is Japan, where he will be in Tokyo from August 29 to August 30. At the invitation of Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, PM Modi will participate in the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit. This is his eighth trip to Japan and his first encounter with Prime Minister Ishiba during a summit.
The MEA says that the two leaders would “review the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan.” Some of the main topics of discussion will be working together on military and security, trade and the economy, technology and innovation, and exchanges between people. They should also talk about problems that are important to the whole world and the region. The visit is meant to “reaffirm the long-standing special bond of friendship between the two countries.” Japanese news reports say that Prime Minister Ishiba is going to unveil a new investment goal for India of 10 trillion yen (about $68 billion) over the next ten years. This is an increase from the previous five-year goal. The two sides should also talk about working together on economic security, semiconductors, and a new AI project.
The second stop is the SCO Summit in China.
After going to Japan, Prime Minister Modi will go to Tianjin, China, on August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit. This will be PM Modi’s first trip to China in seven years. He last went there for an informal summit in Wuhan and the SCO Summit in Qingdao, both in 2018.
The SCO Summit, hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping, will be a major gathering of leaders from over 20 countries. PM Modi is due to meet with other leaders on the sidelines of the summit, including President Xi Jinping, which is a meeting that many people are looking forward to. This encounter comes after a time when relations were tense after the violent clashes in the Galwan Valley in 2020. In October 2024, the two presidents met for a short time in Kazan, Russia, and pledged to bring back ways to repair their relationship.
Chinese officials say that the visit is “very important” for both the SCO and relations between the two countries. Before the visit, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi went to India to plan the agenda for the Modi-Xi meeting and talk about the border issue with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and NSA Ajit Doval. Both sides are said to have agreed to form two working groups to deal with border delimitation and management. They also talked about starting direct flights again and working together more in several areas.
At the SCO summit, leaders will sign and issue the Tianjin Declaration. This is anticipated to strengthen the group’s focus on regional security and economic cooperation.