New Delhi, April 07: Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao left for Tokyo on Wednesday night to express solidarity with the Japanese people hit by the March 11 earthquake-tsunami.
“The Japanese are very keen on projecting a “business-as-usual” scenario. The dates for consultations were fixed before the natural disaster struck. They did not want to change the dates. And we agreed with them because Ms. Rao’s presence would be a way to show [Indian] support to Japan,” said sources in the government.
While most Foreign Office issues will come up for discussion and a few clarifications will be sought especially on the fate of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), the stalled discussions on a civil nuclear agreement will not be broached.
With radiation leakage at the Fukushima nuclear power plant still to be played out fully, both sides have decided not to hold the fourth round of talks on a civil nuclear accord.
However, the Foreign Office will take up Japan’s complaint on a blanket ban on export of food items. Japan has pointed out that other countries have banned imports from only a few prefectures where radioactivity has been detected.
“We have told them that it is not as if the ban will be for three months. The suspension of imports will be reviewed at weekly meetings. We have asked Japan to give inputs about the practice being followed by other countries and any new information that might have come up. It can be put up at the review meeting,” said the government sources.
At the two rounds of talks on April 8 and 9, Ms. Rao and her team will seek to know the impact of Japan’s internal preoccupation on the ODA and the two mega India-Japan projects — the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor and the Dedicated Freight Corridor. “We are hoping there will be no impact but we can live with it even if there is any,” observed the sources.
New Delhi understands that the Japanese government is too busy with rehabilitation and relief work to dwell too deeply into the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). According to reports received from the National Disaster Relief Force team sent by India, debris in parts of northern Japan is yet to be cleared. The CEPA was inked on February 16 in Tokyo and the next step is for both countries to complete their internal processes. India has already done that but Japan is yet to do so. Its implementation will lead to the entry of Indian healthcare professionals into Japan.
–Agencies