education etc. to name a few sectors. Economic Relations Sony, Yamaha, Honda and Toyota have become household names in India, with the setting up of their manufacturing facilities in the country. Suzuki’s partnership with the Indian automobile company - Maruti Suzuki is one of the largest car manufacturers.
Japan’s support for India’s efforts in economic development, in priority areas like power, transportation, environmental projects and projects related to basic human needs have been significant. Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori’s visit to India in August provided the momentum to strengthen the Japan-India relationship. Mr. Mori and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided the establishment of “Global Partnership between Japan and India”.
Since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s visit to India in April , Japan-India Yoshiro Mori annual summit meetings have been held in respective capitals. When Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Japan in December , Japan-India relationship was elevated to the “Global and Strategic Partnership”. Security Cooperation During Prime Minister Singh’s visit to Japan in October , two leaders issued “the Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation between Japan and India”. Japan signed the Declaration on Security Cooperation with India in October , only the third country with which to have such a security relationship after the USAand Australia.
This event sent a positive message to the world community that Japan and India were keen on strengthening their bilateral ties beyond cheque book diplomacy. The rise of China also serves as a significant reason for the realignment of partnerships in the region. Besides increasing the number of bilateral visits by the top defence and military officials as a part of their ‘strategic and global partnership’, both are engaged in initiatives on maritime security, counter terrorism, counter-proliferation, disaster management and energy security. In September , Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Japan and had a summit meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
In December , Prime Minister Abe paid an official visit to India and had a summit meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. They announced “Japan and India Vision Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and