There's a new momentum in the Indo-Japanese relationship. The fourth symposium on the future of this relationship, concentrating on the specific theme of ‘Japan-India Strategic Partnership in the era of Asian Regional Integration’ was held last week. I have been the co-chairman of this joint initiative by the government of Japan and the CII, along with Ambassador Tanino, their former ambassador to India and China and later foreign policy adviser to the prime minister.

These four years have seen a marked change in the scope, quality and intent of the dialogue. The frequency of high-level visits, the successful outcome of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit last year and expectations from the forthcoming visit of the Japanese prime minister are integral to this change.

India’s new fondness and willingness to forge regional alliances in Asia by easing tariff, and other conditions of access has been an important catalyst. Similarly, the need for India and Japan to cooperate on a security framework that goes beyond “merely engaging or containing China” to ensure the safety of the sea lanes, and an orderly management of the competitive quest for energy and raw material needs to be addressed in the broader context of Asia seeking a formal security architecture.

Accelerating Indo-Japanese economic cooperation has never been easy. It has often been an exasperating exercise, needing endless patience. In the five years I spent in Japan in the early eighties, apart from seeking enhanced quantum and quality of Overseas Development Assistance (India being its largest recipient), the investment menu could not proceed beyond the Maruti Suzuki venture.

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