It is indeed heartening that India and Japan are celebrating the year 2007 as Friendship Year, which is also designated as India-Japan Tourism Year. Japan and India share a long history of religious, intellectual and cultural interactions. As important partners in Asia, they aspire for strengthening peace and prosperity in the region through a shared commitment to the principles of democracy, rule of law, independent judiciary and free press.
Coincidently Friendship Year also marks the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Cultural Agreement between our two countries. This is a golden opportunity for both countries to further strengthen touristic and cultural ties through synergistic cooperation. We recall with gratitude the significant contribution of JBIC for the development of infrastructure at the Buddhist heritage sites in India, in particular, on the Buddhist Circuit. As part of the friendship year through tourism this year, we launched our website in Japanese language on the National Tourism Day celebrated on 25th January 2007. This should facilitate access to important information of touristic and cultural value and hopefully motivate Japanese nationals to visit India. I am confident that the ensuing people to people contacts and cultural exchanges during the friendship year will help to provide a solid foundation for building our bilateral relations.
Ambika Soni
Minister of Tourism & Culture
Government of India |
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