The visit by the Japanese Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, to India
In March 2023, during which he engaged with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, on global and bilateral issues, focused on cooperation between the G-7 and the G-20 (Japan and India hold their presidencies, respectively). Japanese PM unveiled “Japan’s New Plan for a Free and Open Indo Pacific” (FOIP) and exchanged views about deepening the “Japan- India Special Strategic and Global Partnership”
- Japan’s FOIP clearly shows that Japan wants to reinforce the idea that it has been the main champion of the FOIP concept.
- The New Plan for the FOIP lays stress on the need to uphold the rules based order and respect each other’s territorial sovereignty.
Challenges before the Indo Pacific
- Japan’s new policy focuses on the numerous challenges facing the Indo-Pacific such as the Ukraine war, food security, and cyber space in addition to issues such as ensuring the freedom of the seas, and connectivity among others.
- Another challenge which has been highlighted is the lack of a united stand on “what the international order should be” — the differing position of countries on the Russia-Ukraine war has brought this issue to the fore.
Four pillars of cooperation under the new FOIP
- principles for peace and rules for prosperity;
- addressing challenges in an Indo-Pacific way;
- multi-layered connectivity; and
- extending efforts for security and safe use of the “sea” to the “air”.
Principles for peace and rules for prosperity:
- The vulnerable countries usually suffer the most if there is an erosion in the rule of law.
- Therefore, Japan wants to engage in economic development programmes such as promoting the implementation of the G20 Principles for “Quality Infrastructure Investment”.
Addressing challenges in an Indo-Pacific Way:
- Expansion of cooperation for the FOIP by incorporating realistic and practical projects in a wide range of areas, such as climate change, food security, global health and cybersecurity.
- Japan has been working for a long time on connectivity projects bilaterally with many countries in the Indo Pacific region.
Multi-layered connectivity:
- Under the third pillar, the three areas identified for introducing more such projects are Southeast Asia, South Asia and the South Pacific/Pacific Island countries.
- Japan has made a new commitment of $100 million towards the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund.
- It will promote the Bay of Bengal Northeast India industrial value chain concept in cooperation with India and Bangladesh, and the new Palau International Airport Terminal project (an archipelago in the western Pacific Ocean) supported by Japan has also taken off.
Extending efforts for security and safe use of the “sea” to the “air”:
- Japan will help in strengthening the capabilities of maritime law enforcement agencies in other countries.
- Towards these objectives, Japan will implement the “strategic use of Official Development Assistance (ODAs)”, revise the Development Cooperation Charter and set forth guidelines for ODA for the next 10 years, and introduce an “offer-type” cooperation and a new framework for “private capital mobilization-type” grant aid.
- Mr. Kishida also announced that Japan would “mobilize” a total of more than $75 billion in public and private funds in the Indo-Pacific region by 2030 in infrastructure development
The primary goal of Mr. Kishida’s visit was to reinforce the centrality of Japan in the emerging geopolitics of the Indo-Pacific. In the past, he had stated that “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow”, which shows Japan’s concern about growing Chinese belligerence in the region. Mr. Kishida’s emphasis on the need to uphold a peaceful and a rules-based international order, and his putting forward policies and mechanisms under the new FOIP to help stabilise the regional order amidst the Ukraine war and the differing positions of countries on this conflict goes on to show that Japan is preparing itself for any unforeseen threat to its own as well as regional security. A Japan deeply invested in Indo-Pacific stability and prosperity is good news indeed for India and the wider region.
The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) is aiming at expanding the country’s artistic and creative footprint globally, by tapping into the experiences of foreign students studying here.
- It hopes that the more than 48,000 foreign students here will be brand ambassadors of India’s heritage, tourist destinations, textiles, yoga, ayurveda, and craft.
- The ICCR will start E-3, or Exit Engagement Evenings with foreign students, beginning three or four months before they finish their courses in various Central and State universities, institutes like the National Institutes of Technology, and agricultural colleges of the country. The engagements would also include visits to places of national importance.
- This “soft diplomacy” is meant to spread the India story when students go back to their home countries.
- There are plans to rope in Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation (TRIFED), which markets the produce and products of tribal people. “The idea is that they bring back some business to this country besides maintaining their Indian linkages,”.
- According to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) brought out by the Ministry of Education, the number of foreign students enrolled in Indian higher education institutions was 48,035 in 2020-21, a marginal dip from 49,348 in 2019-20.
- People from more than 160 countries visit India to study. Nepal, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, the U.S., the UAE, Bhutan, Sudan, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Yemen were the countries from which majority of the students came.
- In April 2022, ICCR launched a website called the India Alumni Portal as a platform to connect with foreign students around the world who have studied in India. The portal is envisaged to be a single platform for all past and present foreign scholars to register, interact, and maintain their Indian links.
- The portal is aimed at helping past students reconnect with each other. ICCR itself offers scholarships to over 6,000 students every year, and there are now 30,000+ ICCR alumni.
- Indian missions abroad are now mandated to form alumni associations in the countries they are present in, and organise activities inviting members to meet visiting Indian dignitaries.