India and Japan will hold the fourth strategic dialogue on Saturday when Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada arrives in New Delhi, during which the two sides will discuss a wide gamut of issues, including civil nuclear cooperation and ways to enhance bilateral trade ties.
Appreciating India's track record on the non-proliferation front, Japan on Friday expressed keenness to conclude the civil nuclear agreement with it at the earliest, but made it clear that such cooperation would be suspended if New Delhi conducted an atomic test.With one round of negotiations on nuclear cooperation already having been concluded, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna and his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada discussed the issue.
An India-Japan civil nuclear pact would be critical in signalling that they would like to build a partnership to bring stability to the region at a time when China is going all out to reward Pakistan with civilian nuclear reactors, says Harsh V Pant.
The impact of Shinzo Abe's towering personality is such that even in death, Abe remains a polarising figure, asserts Dr Rajaram Panda.
