India, Japan to move forward on nuclear cooperation; to have cyber, maritime dialogues

New Delhi, Apr 30 (PTI) In a bid to give impetus to their growing multi-faceted ties, India and Japan today decided to have two new dialogues on maritime and cyber security, and also to "move forward" on the civil nuclear cooperation to arrive at a "mutually satisfactory" pact. India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba co-chaired the 6th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue and 1st Ministerial-level Economic Dialogue here during which the two sides reviewed political and security cooperation and discussed ways to enhance and accelerate their trade and business ties. They also discussed important international and regional issues, including situation in Afghanistan, Myanmar and North Korea's nuclear programme. Noting that the two countries have already had three rounds of negotiations on civil nuclear cooperation, Krishna, at a joint press conference with the Japanese minister, said, "We have instructed our negotiators on the way forward ..." and added that the two countries understand "concerns" of each other which related to their historic experiences. Asked on the progress in civil nuclear talks and if India's non-NPT status was a sticking point in the negotiations, Gemba said, "We reconfirmed that we will move ahead with the negotiations to conclude an agreements to obtain mutually satisfactory outcome. "At the same time, I asked for understanding on Japan's strong desire for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation." On the maritime dialogue, Gemba said, "India is actually situated at an important place on the sea lanes of the communication which links Japan with the Middle East. So, I cannot overlook the geo-political significance of the location of India." "I strongly believe that reinforcing bilateral cooperation in this area will not only serve interest of the two countries but (also) stability and peace of the international community and the Asia region," Gemba said while noting that there have been joint exercises of the coast guards of the two countries. The Japanese minister was asked about the decision of India and Japan to launch maritime dialogue mechanism and the increasing influence of China in the region. The two countries will also have their first exercise between the Indian Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force in June in Japan, according to officials. Gemba also noted that the two countries were involved in anti-piracy cooperation. Significantly, the Indo-Japan decision to have maritime dialogue mechanism at the level of officials comes barely two months after India and China decided to set up such a dialogue. The two sides also discussed ways of furthering their cooperation in the field of rare earths under which there will be joint ventures between the companies of India and Japan. Presently, many Chinese companies are working in this area. Expressing satisfaction that the India–Japan Strategic and Global Partnership is stronger than ever before, the two sides also agreed to maintain and enhance all dialogues and decided to have a pact on social security as early as possible. On the regional issues discussed between him and Krishna, Gemba said they discussed the situation in Afghanistan, Myanmar and North Korea. The Japanese minister was also very strong in his criticism of recent attempted rocket launch by North Korea and asked it to exercise restrain. They should not undertake any further "provocative tests", he added. PTI Caption for pic: India's External Affairs Minister S M Krishna (4L) and his Japanese counterpart Koichiro Gemba (C) pose for a group photo with their delegations after a delegation level meeting in New Delhi on Monday. PTI Photo