India holds the important thing to securing peace and prosperity for all the world, Ambassador of Japan to India Hiroshi Suzuki mentioned right here on Saturday.
He additionally mentioned the “close synergy” between the 2 international locations is extra essential than ever” in view of India holding the presidency of G20 and Japan being the chair of G7 for this year.
“India holds the important thing to securing peace and prosperity for all the world. India this yr holds the presidency of G20. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will preside over the G20 summit in September. (Japanese) Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is the chair of G7. So, the shut synergy between India and Japan is extra essential than ever,” Mr. Suzuki said.
Speaking after inaugurating the 11th Japan Festival at Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), Mr. Suzuki stressed the need for a people-to-people exchange to strengthen ties between the two countries. India assumed the presidency of the G20 – a premier forum for international economic cooperation – on December 1, 2022. The G20 summit will be organised in New Delhi in September this year. Japan will host the annual G7 summit in May in Hiroshima.
The Japanese diplomat said the culture is the pillar that supports the “particular partnership” between India and Japan which is global and strategic and encompasses wide-ranging areas of security, political and economic cooperation”.
“All these will have to be supported by the people. That’s why people-to-people exchange — youth exchange — is important. So I tell young students: you will be the bridge of the future, you will be the torchbearer of advancing special India-Japan partnership into the future,” he mentioned.
Mr. Suzuki additionally recalled his go to to Ahmedabad in 2017 with then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “Abe (now deceased) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a deep respect for each other, and they joined hands in creating this very special partnership,” Mr. Suzuki added.
He additionally remembered the go to of Abe’s spouse Akie Abe to AMA in 2017 when she interacted with individuals on the Japan Centre of AMA and in addition gifted books.
“(Former) PM Abe was also deeply involved in selecting the best books that he and Mrs. Abe wanted to donate to the people of Gujarat so that the friendship will be so much more deepened going into the future,” Mr. Suzuki mentioned.
The yr 2023 additionally marks the golden jubilee of pupil change between Gujarat University and Otemon Gakuin University which began in 1972, he mentioned.
“Culture is a bridge between nations. Different nations have different languages, different ways of thinking, but people-to-people exchange, a cultural exchange can easily transcend all these impediments,” Mr. Suzuki mentioned, including he was comfortable to see Gujarati individuals singing, dancing, and interacting with the Japanese on the AMA.
The Indo-Japan Friendship Association, Gujarat, welcomed Mr. Suzuki and different delegates.
The Japan competition, which is able to go on until February 2, has an exhibition on Japanese Manga artist Katsushika Hokusai, workshops on Zen-Kaizen, a musical fusion programme, an origami workshop, and many others.
Source: www.thehindu.com