India and Japan sign $42 bn investment agreements for next five years

India and Japan aim to invest $42 billion in the coming five years, the leaders declared after a meeting in New Delhi for the 14th annual summit, where several contracts were signed. The two sides discussed several regional troubles where PM Narendra Modi briefed PM Fumio Kishida on the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and the People's Liberation Army’s (PLA) attempts at multiple transgression on the LAC. Foreign secretary Harsh Shringla said that any normalcy in the India-China relationship would depend on the progress on the LAC de-escalation talks, implying that the planned visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi would need to concentrate on that. However, in a clear indication of differences over their stands on the Russia–Ukraine conflict, Kishida highlighted that Russia’s actions must not be ‘condoned’ while PM Modi made no direct reference to the situation. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a grave development that shakes the fundamentals of the international order. And they need to resolutely respond to the situation. It was the first India-Japan annual summit since 2018, which had been delayed due to protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and then due to the pandemic. PM Modi told the media that as the global post-covid recovery process falters and geopolitical development present new challenges, it was necessary to deepen the India-Japan partnership, which would have an influence on the Indo-Pacific region, and the world, adding that the two leaders had additionally discussed bolstering bilateral cooperation including at the United Nations. While Japan has invariably criticised Russia’s Ukraine invasion and inflicted several sanctions on Russia including economic and oil equipment export bans, India has thus far refused to vote for any resolutions criticising Russia, and Indian firms are stepping up their intake of Russian oil. Image Source Also read: Japan, India jointly review work under Japanese Industrial Townships