Ambassador's Message
At the beginning of the year 2022, I would like to express my New Year greetings to everyone.
2022 is a special year for us as it marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India.
Today, Japan and India, as strategic partners, cooperate in a close and multilayered manner not only on bilateral issues but also on regional and international issues. Our formal relationship began 70 years ago when both countries established diplomatic relations. For Japan, after World War II, rejoining the international community was the top priority of the national agenda and India consistently supported Japan’s aspiration. This was the cornerstone of the friendship between our two countries. India considered that honour and equality should be ensured for Japan and, as a result, India did not sign the multilateral San Francisco Peace Treaty and opted for concluding a bilateral peace treaty with Japan. On 28 April 1952, both countries exchanged letters regarding the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, and then concluded the Treaty of Peace on 9 June in the same year. Since then, a firm trust has been nurtured between the two countries.
Last year, the whole world was suffered from COVID-19. Especially, its impact on India, which was the first country affected by the crisis of Delta variant, was tremendous. However, even in such a precarious situation, the cooperation built on the mutual trust between Japan and India has developed steadily.
Both our Prime Ministers held summit meetings four times including physical ones. Leader’s Summit was also held in QUAD format. Security cooperation between the two countries including regular joint military exercises between Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Indian Navy has been progressing. In economic field, the Government of Japan supports the efforts of the Indian Government to strengthen manufacturing industries through the initiative of Industrial Competitiveness Partnership. In the field of social infrastructure development, successful stories of Japan-India cooperation can be seen across the country. For instance, metro projects in Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru; the commencement of civil engineering works of Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project; foundation of 8 new projects of Japan-India Institute for Manufacturing (JIM); introduction of cold chain system for COVID-19 vaccination, among others. Prime Minister Modi attended the inaugural ceremony of the Varanasi International Cooperation and Convention Centre (VCC) which was built on JICA’s assistance and expressed profound gratitude towards Japan. In the sphere of personal exchanges, keeping the post-COVID-19 future in focus, the Memorandum of Cooperation regarding “Specified Skilled Workers” was signed.
Especially, the cooperation between Japan and Northeast India deserves a special mention. Oxygen generation plants were installed in three States of Northeast India by the joint effort between the Government of Japan and UNDP. The foundation laying ceremony for a longest bridge connecting Assam and Meghalaya also took place. Japan and India will continue to cooperate in the further development of this region.
The theme of the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India is “Building a future for our Centenary”, with the hope that we together create our future beyond the 70th anniversary and towards the 100th anniversary landmark. I would like to make this year an opportunity to further strengthen the Japan-India relationship, including the fields that have been forced to stagnate due to the impact of COVID-19.
I would like to extend my best wishes for 2022 to be an even more wonderful year for the two countries and a fruitful year for everyone.
1st January 2022
Satoshi Suzuki
Ambassador of Japan to India
