Japanese foreign minister meets Jairam Ramesh

Visiting Japanese foreign minister Katsuya Okada today met environment minister Jairam Ramesh today and is understood to have a dialogue on global issues such as climate change in the run-up to the UN climate meet at Cancun later this year.

Besides climate change, Okada and Ramesh are also understood to have deliberated on the upcoming tenth Conference of Parties (CoP) on Biological Diversity to be held in Nagoya in Japan in October, sources in the environment ministry said.

India and other developing countries are seeking a single legally binding international pact at the meet to deal with access to and benefit the sharing of bio-resources, a move vehemently opposed by rich countries.

"The Japanese foreign minister also assured all cooperation to India, which has offered to host the 11th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2012 in New Delhi," sources added.

Yesterday Okada had called on prime minister Manmohan Singh to discuss issues concerning bilateral civil nuclear cooperation. He also met foreign minister SM Krishna to discuss the fourth round of the Indian-Japan strategic dialogue.

Okada's visit is aimed at firming up the agenda for Singh's trip to Tokyo in October this year, during which he will have a meeting with Japanese prime minister Naoto Kan.