NEW DELHI/GUWAHATI, June 23: A plan to hold the next annual India-Japan summit in Assam has been shelved due to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s tight schedule and logistical issues, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The summit will now take place in New Delhi, they said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also confirmed the development.
Related Posts:
Takaichi is set to visit India from July 1 to 3, which will be her first trip to the country after becoming prime minister.
The Indian side had made initial preparations to hold the summit in Guwahati in line with Japan’s focus on boosting its engagement with the Northeastern region.
Given PM Takaichi’s domestic commitments, including an ongoing session of the Japanese parliament, the window between her proposed arrival in India and her departure is quite tight, said one of the people cited above.
Because of this and the additional logistical issues connected to a visit outside the capital, the summit is now likely to be held in New Delhi.
This will also accommodate certain programming elements that both sides are keen on to boost bilateral ties, the people said.
The annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe was cancelled in December 2019 in Guwahati in the wake of massive protests rocking the Assam city over the amended citizenship law.
In August last year, Modi travelled to Japan for the annual summit.
Following the summit, Japan set an investment target of 10 trillion yen (approx Rs 60,000 crore) in India over a decade.
The two sides also sealed a raft of big-ticket pacts including a framework for defence ties and a 10-year roadmap to largely boost economic partnership.
Addressing a press conference in Guwahati, Sarma said, “Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri informed our chief secretary last night that the Japanese PM’s proposed visit to Assam will not be happening. Her visit to India will be limited to New Delhi.”
A Japanese business delegation will come to Assam later, the chief minister said.
“As per protocol, we cannot ask for the reason (why the Assam visit was cancelled). We have to discuss among ourselves. Maybe when I am in Delhi next time or meet (External Affairs Minister) Jaishankar, I can ask him,” Sarma said.
Referring to then-Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s visit to Guwahati in December 2019 being cancelled in the wake of massive protests rocking the city over the amended citizenship law, Sarma said it is definitely unfortunate that two expected visits had to be cancelled.
He said personnel of the Japanese Embassy had been in Assam for the past one month, visiting various locations, checking hotel rooms and even preparing the food menu for the proposed visit.
Asked about the beautification drive in Guwahati ahead of the now-cancelled visit, the CM said the routine work will continue, though the special measures being undertaken will not be carried out.
Sarma added that the last week had brought two pieces of good news for the state, one being the European Union’s withdrawal of its negative travel advisory for Assam and the announcement of direct flights from Guwahati to two new international destinations, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
