PM Modi Meets Japanese PM Shinzō Abe

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit at Bangkok, Thailand, on November 4, 2019.

The discussions focussed on preparing the ground for India-Japan 2+2 Dialogue & Annual Summit later this year. Prime Minister Modi shall be participating in the East Asia Summit and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Summit later in the day, according to a PIB release.

Prime Minister Modi would be steering India’s negotiations at the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. RCEP is a comprehensive free trade agreement being negotiated between the 10 ASEAN Member States and ASEAN’s free trade agreement partners Australia, China, India, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.

PM Modi sought to dispel the notion that India is  reluctant to join the RCEP trade deal. In an interview to Bangkok Post, he said India remains committed to a comprehensive and balanced outcome from the ongoing RCEP negotiations but India would like a win-win outcome. He added that addressing India’s concerns over unsustainable trade deficits is important. He said that a mutually beneficial RCEP, in which all sides gain reasonably, is in interest of India and of all partners in the negotiation.

RCEP negotiations, which began in Cambodia in 2012, covers areas including trade in goods and services, investment, market access, economic cooperation, intellectual property and e-commerce. PM Modi will returns to Delhi on November 4, 2019, night.