India- Japan 5th Act East Forum Meet

The fifth joint meeting of the India-Japan Act East Forum was held between India and Japan on January 28, 2021. The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and the Ambassador of Japan to India, Suzuki Satoshi.

Highlights

• At the Act East Forum, India and Japan reviewed the progress of ongoing projects in the North Eastern Region of India.
• These projects were launched in the areas ranging from the hydropower, connectivity, harnessing of water resource, sustainable development, and skill development.
• Both the countries also discussed several ongoing new projects under India-Japan bilateral cooperation.
• They also exchanged their views on cooperation in new areas including agro-industries, healthcare and SMEs, Smart city, tourism, bamboo value chain development, and people-to-people exchanges.
• Both the sides also appreciated the role played by the Act East Forum, ever since it was established in the year 2017, in streamlining India-Japan bilateral cooperation.
• They highlighted how the forum has helped in the modernization of the North Eastern Region.
• The Act East Forum also provides a platform for India-Japan collaboration in the North Eastern Region in accordance with the India’s Act East Policy and Japan’s vision for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific”.

Act East Forum

The act east forum was established in the year 2017. The agreement to established the forum was signed in September 2017 during the visit of Prime Minister Abe to India. This platform works in line with the Japan’s vision for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” and India-Japan collaboration in the North Eastern Region under India’s “Act East Policy”.

Act East Policy

The act east policy was launched in November 2014 at the East Asia Summit in Myanmar. The policy was launched with the focus on the economic and security integration. The policy mainly focusses on the area like South East Asia and the East Asia. This policy is said to be the modification of the Look East Policy.

Look East Policy

The look east policy of India was launched by the former Prime Minister  P.V. Narasimha Rao in the year 1991. This policy was launched then with the aim of shifting the India’s trading focus from the west and neighbours to the South East Asian countries. This policy was discontinued in 2014 with the enactment of Act east policy.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2021