New Delhi, Tokyo will be working on third country projects in India's vicinity, says Indian envoy to Japan

Indian PM Modi's first bilateral on the sidelines of G20 Summit will be with Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday in Osaka. Indian envoy to Japan Sanjay Kumar Verma spoke to WION on what to expect from the meet and India's role at the G20 grouping.

WION: What can be expected from PM Modi's bilateral with the Japanese PM?

Sanjay Kumar Verma: Today India-Japan relationship is at historical best and if you look at the chemistry between any two leaders, there could not be anything better than what PM Modi and Japan PM Shinzo Abe have. If we look at the Japanese contribution, in foreign policy goals, then each and every element we look at both countries are complementary to each other. This plays a huge role in taking the relationship forward, from economy to skill development to smart city and digital, anything you look at it compliments.

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WION: And Japanese PM will be visiting India this year for the annual summit?

Sanjay Kumar Verma: Yes, last year PM Modi was in Japan for the summit, so this year, its turn of PM Abe to go to India.

WION: Both are now working on the third country projects, like in Sri Lanka?

Sanjay Kumar Verma: Yes, the third country projects are extremely important between the two countries and that was agreed upon by the two prime ministers in the last meeting which took place in Tokyo last year.

That has been taken forward. It plugs very well with India's Act East policy and Japan's own policy of engaging India for third country projects. So Japan is engaged in India for projects, for example, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway, dedicated freight corridor, metro projects in large infrastructure projects and now we want to go to other countries and it will start in the vicinity of India.

WION: You also spoke about the personal chemistry, we saw the Japan PM hosting PM Modi at his residence.

Sanjay Kumar Verma: You know getting a leader from another country to Japanese PM's own residence was a first. Therefore that tells you a lot about what is the personal chemistry between PM Modi and Japanese PM Abe and how much trust exists between them, they are more like friends. They very close, very frank and have very open discussions and they are very helpful towards each other.

WION: How is India playing a leadership role at G20?

Sanjay Kumar Verma: India has been playing a very key role at the G20 outcomes, from digital partnership to climate change to financial architecture and counter-terrorism. Also in trade multilateralism, India is a key player globally. India has been able to shape global opinions and has led the way in out-of-box thinking.