Indian Prime Minister visit to Japan and 'Thailand
[PM wants India, Japan to chart a new course for Asia]
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh paid a visit to Japan in the last week of May 2013. In his address to three different forums, during this visit, comprising Indian and Japanese parliamentarians, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talked of the responsibility of India and Japan to address multiple challenges in the India-Pacific region to chart a new course for Asia in this century.
Addressing the Japan-India Association, the Japan-India Parliamentary Friendship League and the International Friendship Exchange Council, Dr.Singh spoke of Japan in glowing terms as the role model of economic growth and of the high stakes of the world in reinvigorating the Japanese economy.
India, Japan to speed up talks on Civil Nuclear Deal
Indian PM Dr. Singh and his counterpart Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on May 29 decided to accelerate talks on a civil nuclear deal that would allow Japan to export nuclear reactors to India and to
bolster maritime security cooperation at a time when China's postures in the region's seas have thrown up concerns.
A joint statement issued at the end of exhaustive talks between Dr. Singh and Mr. Abe said that the two leaders reaffirmed the importance of civil nuclear co-operation between the two countries
while recognizing that nuclear safety was a priority for both governments.
India and Japan welcomed the expansion of bilateral defence ties and agreed to further cooperate on maritime issues to ensure freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce.
They decided to establish a Joint Working Group to explore the modalities for cooperation on the US-2 amphibious aircraft.
Naval Exercises
The two sides also institutionalized naval exercises which will now be held on a regular basis with increased frequency. Both sides expressed their commitment to continue working to prepare
the ground for India to become a full member in the international export control regimes the Nuclear Suppliers Group, the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group and the
Wassenaar Agreement. Expectations on substantial progress on the civil nuclear deal were belied with Abe stressing the importance of bringing into force the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) at an early date. Japan, the only country to have suffered nuclear attacks, wants India to sign both the NPT and the CTBT, which New Delhi terms as discriminatory.
On his part, Singh reiterated India's commitment to its unilateral and voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing.
PM in Thailand
The PM Mr. Singh dashed to Thailand from Japan on May 30. India and Thailand signed an extradition treaty and other important agreements at the conclusion of talks between PM Manmohan Singh and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinawatra.
The security cooperation got a major boost. The two countries ratified a treaty on exchanging sentenced prisoners and signed a pact on cooperation in anti-money laundering policies.
The other pacts cover areas of mutual cooperation such as space technology development and cultural cooperation. Thailand invited Indian investment in various sectors.
An ambitious project to develop a 3,200 km highway linking India, Myanmar and Thailand was an important item on the agenda of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during his visit here.
On May 30, 2013 Dr. Singh and his Thai counterpart Yingluck Shinwatra expressed the hope that the highway would be ready by 2016.
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