Vientiane, Oct 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday held bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Japan and New Zealand on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Summit in Laos.

The newly-appointed Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) had recently succeeded Fumio Kishida in a parliamentary vote on October 1.

Prime Minister Modi congratulated Ishiba on his new responsibility and wished him success in leading Japan to greater heights. He also underscored that India will continue to accord the highest priority to its ties with Japan, a trusted friend and strategic partner.

"The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership through enhanced cooperation in a wide range of areas including trade and investment, infrastructure development, defense and security, semiconductors, skilling, culture and people to people exchanges," read a statement issued by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) after the meeting.

"Both leaders emphasised that India and Japan are indispensable partners for a peaceful, safe, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region and renewed their commitment to working together to achieve this goal. The two leaders looked forward to the next India-Japan annual summit," it added.

Ishiba, who has visited India earlier, mentioned that, thanks to the efforts of Prime Minister Modi and other relevant parties in both countries, Japan-India relations have progressed dramatically, and that he hopes to further develop Japan-India relations under the 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership'.

"I would like to further advance cooperation in the areas of economy, security, and people-to-people exchanges, and to move forward with concrete cooperation in the lead-up to Prime Minister Modi's visit to Japan," Ishiba was quoted as saying by his office late Thursday evening.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon which was the first meeting between the two leaders.

Prime Minister Modi welcomed New Zealand's decision to join the International Solar Alliance and also extended an invitation to Luxon to visit India on mutually convenient dates, which he accepted.

"The two Prime Ministers discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation across a range of areas including trade and investment, defence and security, renewable energy, education, dairy, agritech, sports, tourism, space, and people-to-people ties. They noted that frequent high-level contacts have imparted a strong momentum to bilateral relations. In this context, they recalled the recent visit of the President of India to New Zealand, which was a huge success," the PMO detailed.

Both leaders also renewed their commitment to further strengthen cooperation in multilateral fora and reiterated their commitment to take the India-New Zealand relationship to greater heights. (IANS)

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