India and Japan set to improve ties: Wanchoo

“India and Japan are poised to strengthen their relationship in the current framework of comprehensive strategic partnership agreement. There are a lot of challenges because of the fast-changing geopolitical dynamics and the evolving Indo-Pacific security architecture,” said the Governor of Goa Bharat Vir Wanchoo. 

He was speaking after inaugurating the two-day international conference on ‘Promoting India-Japan Strategic Dialogue’ organised by the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations of Manipal University in association with the Japan Foundation, here on Friday.

Mr. Wanchoo said Japan had made important contributions to facilitate the development of infrastructure in India. “Both India and Japan have been looking for convergence on pertinent themes impacting global peace and stability. The potential for evolving a robust partnership exists and it needs to be exploited at every level and in all spheres,” he added. He said Asia’s resurgence began a century ago with the progress of Japan. Both India and Japan were for democracy, peace, and freedom. Over the past decade, India-Japan relations had seen a quantum leap. India wanted to advance its bilateral relationship with Japan. Both had mutual stake in each other’s prosperity.

There were convergences between both the countries on issues such as cyber security, counter-terrorism, and economic partnership. Japan had also contributed towards the improvement of the manufacturing sector in India. India-Japan relations were at the core of India’s ‘Look East’ policy. The importance of civil nuclear cooperation between the two countries needed to be underscored, Mr. Wanchoo said. 

Experts from both Japan and India were attending the international conference. The themes identified for the discussion include political, economic, strategic, nuclear, maritime security, terrorism, cyber threats, disaster management, high technology cooperation, and the prospects for synergy building in India-Japan relations. 

M.D. Nalapat, Honorary Director and UNESCO Peace Chair, the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, welcomed the gathering. Arvind Kumar, Head of the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, gave an overview of the conference. H. Vinod Bhat, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University, chaired the inaugural session.

Ramdas Pai, Chancellor of Manipal University, H.S. Ballal, Pro-Chancellor, and K. Ramnarayan, Vice-Chancellor, were present.