Mori for further impetus to Indo-Japan ties

Visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori on Wednesday expressed his desire to give further impetus to Indo-Japan relations to make them much better.

"I would like to make Indo-Japan relations much warmer and better than what they are now," Mori told reporters after he was accorded a ceremonial reception at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Besides Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, those present on the occasion were External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, Minister of State for External Affairs Ajit Kumar Panja, diplomats and senior officials.

During his visit, the first by any Japanese premier in ten years, Mori will hold wide-ranging discussions with Vajpayee on regional, and international issues.

The Japanese prime minister will call on President K R Narayanan, Vice-President Krishan Kant and hold meetings with Jaswant Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Mori, who visited Infosys and Wipro units in Bangalore, has underscored the need for closer ties between India and Japan on the booming informational technology sector.

Mori will have an interactive session with FICCI and deliver an address on 'India-Japan Global Partnership in the 21st Century'.

Economic issues are expected to dominate the parleys.

Tell us what you think of this report