NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi may make Japan his first port of call. The Japanese side has proposed possible dates for Modi's visit to Tokyo which could happen end of June or early July.
Japanese foreign minister Fumio Kishida called his counterpart Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday, his first conversation with her after she took over. Japanese diplomatic channels have already proposed dates for Modi's visit to Tokyo.
Takeshi Yagi, the Japanese envoy to India, visited new national security advisor Ajit Doval last week to propose dates. India is yet to accept them but indications in the government are that Modi is interested.
Modi was supposed to make the BRICS summit in Brazil, scheduled for July 15, his international debut. Japanese PM Shinzo Abe declared that he was "looking forward" to welcoming Modi in Tokyo before the end of the year. Japan wants an Abe-Modi summit to precede a possible Modi-Xi Jinping summit.
Modi has a long history with Japan, with Japanese companies investing deeply in Gujarat. Modi wants that experience to be replicated in the rest of India. What will be interesting will be to see how Modi engages with Japan on the strategic front. How far will India sign on to Japan's new Asia-Pacific initiative?
At Shangri La, Abe said Japan would assist countries like the Philippines which are fighting territorial disputes with China, claiming a larger security role for Japan in Asia. Japan, he said, would play "a more proactive role than it has until now in making peace in Asia and the world something more certain".
"Japan will offer its utmost support for the efforts of the countries of Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as they work to ensure the security of the seas and the skies," it said.
The Chinese president may travel to India in September, a visit that will be eagerly watched in the rest of the world. Modi already has a plan to increase economic ties with China and invite Chinese investment in various sectors of the Indian economy.
Modi’s first foreign tour could be to Japan - The Times of India
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