Japanese PM Shinzo Abe meets President Pranab Mukherjee, discusses range of issues

Cooperation between forces of India and Japan will help in maintaining peace and security of the entire region, visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe today said.

Abe, who will become the first Japanese Prime Minister to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade tomorrow, called on President Pranab Mukherjee at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

They discussed a host of issues ranging from historical ties, trade and investment to improving cooperation in the defence sector. "India attaches great importance to India-Japan relations and appreciates Prime Minister Abe's view that India-Japan relations have the largest potential in any bilateral relations," a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

"The Japanese Prime Minister said there has been steady progress in the strategic and global partnership between the two countries. Cooperation between the defence forces of the two countries will contribute to peace and security of the entire region," it said.

The visiting Prime Minister also emphasised the need to increase trade and investment develop further even as 1,000 Japanese companies are already in India.

Abe said he has brought along with him a large business delegation and is also looking forward to developing exchanges in the academic field.