Jaishankar to Embark on Bilateral Visits to Japan and South Korea from March 5-8

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay bilateral visits to the Republic of Korea and Japan from March 5-8 and will co-chair the 10th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with his Korean counterpart Cho-Tae Yul, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

New Delhi:In a significant diplomatic development, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (EAM) will pay bilateral visits to Korea and Japan from March 05-08, said the External Affairs Ministry on Thursday.

EAM will first visit Seoul from 05-06 March to co-chair the 10th India - Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with Cho Tae-yul, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. During the visit, EAM is also expected to meet with Korean dignitaries, heads of think tanks, and the Indian community.

It is pertinent to note that the India-Korea Special Strategic Partnership has expanded to diverse areas of cooperation, which include trade, investments, defense education, S&T, and culture. The Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) is expected to comprehensively review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and explore avenues for further strengthening it. It will also provide an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.

EAM will then visit Japan from 06-08 March for the 16th India-Japan Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue with the Foreign Minister of Japan Yoko Kamikawa. The two Ministers are expected to discuss issues of bilateral, regional, and global importance, and exchange views on cooperation for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific.

India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership have further deepened in the last decade in areas such as defense and digital technologies, semiconductor supply chains, clean energy, high-speed rail, industrial competitiveness, and connectivity. EAM's visit and meetings in Tokyo will provide strategic guidance to our functional cooperation in these areas.

According to the MEA, Jaishankar will also participate in the first Raisina Roundtable in Tokyo. The Roundtable is a key step towards enhancing track 2 exchanges between India and Japan. He is expected to interact with business leaders, think tanks, and academia, building upon strong cultural and people-to-people ties.

EAM's visits to Korea and Japan, India's two major partners, will impart further momentum to bilateral exchanges and set the agenda for future cooperation.

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