Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Welcomes the Summit Meeting between India and Pakistan

Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, now visiting United Arab Emirates, called Mr. Yashwant Sinha, Minister for External Affairs of India today to extend congratulations on the successful outcome of the India–Pakistan Summit meeting.  

During the telephone conversation, Ms. Kawaguchi whole-heartedly welcomed the historic India-Pakistan summit meeting held successfully on the occasion of the SAARC Summit earlier this week, as a new opportunity to realize peace in the South Asian region. Ms. Kawaguchi also stated that she highly regarded the series of initiatives taken by India over the year toward improved India-Pakistan relations. She expressed the hope and expectation that, through the commencement of the composite dialogue process, the two countries would further enhance their bilateral ties, thus contributing to the peace and security of the region.  

Speaking of the Japan–India relationship, Ms. Kawaguchi welcomed that, since her visit to India in January 2003, the interactions between the two countries had been steadily increasing in visits by Cabinet members as well as vice-ministerial consultations, and defense exchanges among others. She said that she looked forward to working closely with Mr. Yashwant Sinha so as to further promote the strengthening of the strategic perspectives of the global partnership between Japan and India.