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Prime Minister of Japan Fumio Kishida on Tuesday embarked on a train to Kyiv for a summit meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Japanese broadcaster NHK.
The Japanese PM's visit to Ukraine coincides with a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow. "On this occasion, Prime Minister Kishida will express to President Zelenskyy his respect for the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people standing up to defend their homeland under President Zelenskyy's leadership. Prime Minister Kishida, as Japan and the G7, of which Japan is the Chair, will directly convey our solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine," the statement added. Kishida, who is scheduled to chair the G7 summit this May, is the last leader from the G7 grouping to have visited Ukraine, since the beginning of the conflict with Russia. In Poland, the leaders will not only discuss the Russian aggression against Ukraine but also confirm their commitment to strengthen bilateral cooperation. Kishida's Ukraine visit follows a two-day trip to India during which he held delegation level bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi over a wide range of issues. In India, Kishida said that Japan will increase collaboration for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, as he described India as an "indispensable partner". He also added that it is necessary to guide the international community towards cooperation rather than conflict and division. "India is an indispensable partner and I believe India and Japan are in an extremely unique position in the current International relations and further in the history of the world. India is the largest democracy in the world. I have always viewed with great respect the way such a huge and diverse country as India has developed a democracy," he said while delivering the 41st Sapru House Lecture. He recalled that former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe in 2016 delivered a vision called Free and Open Pacific (FOIP). (ANI)
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