EAM S Jaishankar to visit Japan, South Korea

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on a four-day visit to South Korea and Japan beginning March 4 to hold talks with his interlocutors on key bilateral, regional and global issues, including the challenges in the Indo-Pacific.

Jaishankar's visit to the Republic of Korea and Japan, two of India's major partners, will impart further momentum to bilateral exchanges and set the agenda for future cooperation, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

The external affairs minister will first travel to Seoul on a two-day visit where he will co-chair the 10th India-South Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) along with his Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul.

Jaishankar is expected to meet with Korean dignitaries, heads of think tanks and Indian community, the MEA said, announcing the visit.

India's Special Strategic Partnership with South Korea has expanded to diverse areas of cooperation, which include trade, investments, defence, education and technology among others.

"The JCM is expected to comprehensively review the entire gamut of bilateral cooperation and explore avenues for further strengthening it," the MEA said in a statement.

"It will also provide an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest," it said. In the second leg of his trip, Jaishankar will visit Japan from March 6 to 8.

In Tokyo, Jaishankar will attend the 16th India-Japan Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue along with his Japanese counterpart Yoko Kamikawa.

"The two ministers are expected to discuss issues of bilateral, regional and global importance, and exchange views on cooperation for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific," the MEA said.

"India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership has further deepened in the last decade in areas such as defence and digital technologies, semiconductor supply chains, clean energy, high speed rail, industrial competitiveness and connectivity," it said.

The MEA said Jaishankar's visit and meetings in Tokyo will provide strategic guidance to the "functional cooperation" between the two countries in these areas.

He is expected to interact with business leaders, think tanks and academia, building upon strong cultural and people-to people ties.