32 | ASIA ONE | JULY-AUGUST 2018
Cynosure
enterprises, (3) cultural cooperation
- Expo and Olympic, (4) education,
advanced science and technology
including the space cooperation, (5)
cooperation in environment, energy
and water, (6) defense cooperation,
(7) aviation cooperation, (8) security
cooperation, (9) cooperation in
the fields of agriculture and food
security, (10) women empowerment,
and so on, under the commitment
of strengthening their strategic
partnership in a comprehensive
manner. Since I have been posted here
in Dubai as the Consul General in
Dubai, honestly speaking, every step I
have taken is humbly not so big one.
I have extended dialogues with every
department of the Dubai government
as well as many departments
of Sharjah and other Emirates’
governments. I have delivered my
speeches and presentations at various
occasions where I was invited by
the above governments, the federal
government, private sectors and
social clubs, promoting the Japanese
culture, state-of-the-art technologies,
business practice and so on. I have
also coordinated business seminars,
inviting respectively the Japanese
Ambassador to Iraq, to Lebanon,
to Kuwait, to Iran and so on as
lecturers. I have promoted Japanese
products, technologies, cultures and
service to the UAE people and market
through many events organized by the
Consulate-General.
There are many of such small steps
I have taken, based on the friendly
and cordial relations between the UAE
and Japan. More importantly, every
member of the Japanese community
in Dubai has also contributed to
enhance our cordial bilateral relations
to a greater or lesser extent. Gathering
and accumulating these variety of
endeavors graciously creates a huge
dynamism of our relations. My role
might have been modestly to coordinate
such concerted endeavors, expecting
to spur driving forces for enhancing
further our bilateral relations.JAPAN-INDIA RELATIONSHIP
Japan and India have enjoyed
significant deepening of bilateral
relations especially in the past couple
of years and the growing convergence
in the political, economic and strategic
interests. The bilateral relations
are based on a firm foundation of
common values and traditions, as
well as on an emerging consensus on
contemporary issues of peace, security
and development. Both countries are
committed to work together to elevate
their partnership to the next level to
advance common strategic objectives
at a time when the global community
is faced with new challenges.
The historic visit of Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe to Gujarat last year
showed the Japan-India relationship
has entered a new era. The visit was
unprecedented and special, most
evidently demonstrated in the enormous
welcome and gracious hospitality that
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received
from Prime Minister Narendra Modi
and from the people of Gujarat. Indeed,
the quantum leap in our relationship
has been achieved under the strong
leadership of and genuine friendship
between the two leaders. Highlights of a
few significant outcomes two countries
have achieved are (1) convergence of
two strategies into “Free, Open and
Prosperous Indo-Pacific” by Modi’s
“Act East Policy” and Abe’s “Free and
Open Indo-Pacific Strategies”, (2)much awaited Mumbai-Ahmedabad
High Speed Railway project, (3) civil
nuclear cooperation based on the
bilateral Agreement for Cooperation in
the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy
in 2016, (4) rapid increase in Japanese
FDI to India under the Japan-India
Investment Promotion Partnership
2014, and so on.POTENTIAL IN INDIA
Geopolitically, India is one of the
biggest influential stakeholders in the
globe, as it is anchored at the center
of the Indian Ocean, which connects
Asia and Africa, two of which are
current and the next growth engines
in the world economy. India is also
positioned at the significant important
geological point where its coast is
along the course of one of the most
busy sea lanes. Needless to say, India
is the 3rd largest economy in Asia, with
the world’s 2nd largest population and
has a huge middle-income group, thus
having the biggest potential of not only
economic growth but also as the global
influential power.
The Indian economy has kept such
a high growth at around 7% annually
since Prime Minister Modi took office
in 2014. In addition, the stock market
has been booming, both production
and consumption have increased,
and the FDI has steadily risen with a
backdrop of deregulation led by Prime
Minister Modi.
Diplomatically, Prime Minister Modi
has put forward the “Act East Policy”
and promoted largely the cooperation
in the Asia-Pacific region, thereby
helping India gain further influential
power in an international arena as
one of the biggest global powers. The
phrase “21st century would be an era
of India” might become a true story.“The historic visit of Prime Minister
Shinzo Abe to Gujarat started a new
era of Japan-India relationship”