Message from Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan, to His Excellency Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the people of India on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India

"The World and Japan" Database (Project Leader: TANAKA Akihiko)

Database of Japanese Politics and International Relations

National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS); Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia (IASA), The University of Tokyo

[Title] Message from Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan, to His Excellency Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the people of India on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India

[Place]

[Date] April 28, 2002

[Source] Ministry of External Affairs, India

[Notes]

[Full text]

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India, it gives me great pleasure to convey warm felicitations to Prime Minister Vajpayee and our dearest friends in India on behalf of the people of Japan.

Long history of interchange between Japan and India dates back to the 6th century when the great teachings of Buddhism were introduced to Japan. The two countries have cultivated further friendly and cooperative relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1952. Prime Minister Vajpayee's visit to Japan in December 2001 and pronouncement of the Japan-India Joint Declaration infused fresh energies to take the relations to a new height for the 21st century.

I would like to express my desire to continually strive for the enhancement of relations with India, a close partner of Japan in the Asia-Pacific, in cooperation with Prime Minister Vajpayee and the friendly people of India.

I am pleased with steady progress in the policy dialogues between Japan and India on security issues. Economic cooperation between the two countries including one in the area of Information Technology holds a bright future. Japanese official development assistance (ODA) projects utilizing Japanese technologies are underway including the feasibility study, which was recently initiated, of the project for pollution abatement of the holy Ganges. I am confident that strengthening of our relations will benefit the people of Japan and India, and that it will significantly contribute to the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region as well as the world.

I sincerely hope that the auspicious occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and India will provide us with an opportunity to further wide-ranging interchange, and to enhance the bonds of trust and friendship between the peoples of Japan and India.

Junichiro Koizumi

Prime Minister of Japan