Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to embark on five-day visit to Mongolia, Japan

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a five-day visit to Mongolia and Japan on Monday to enhance the strategic partnership and defence cooperation with the East Asian countries, the Ministry of Defence said in a statement on Sunday.

Taking to Twitter, Rajnath Singh said, "Looking forward to visiting Mongolia and Japan from 5th September to 9th September to engage with our allies & partners. I shall be attending the 2+2 Ministerial Level Dialogue in Tokyo."

"India seeks to strengthen defence cooperation and advance regional security & stability," he added.

According to the Defence Ministry, Rajnath Singh will visit to Mongolia from September, 5-7, 2022.

The upcoming visit is the first-ever visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Mongolia and will further consolidate the defence cooperation and strategic partnership between the two countries, the official statement from the Ministry stated.

During his stay in Mongolia, Rajnath Singh will hold bilateral talks with Mongolia's Minister of Defence, Gursediin Saikhanbayar.

During bilateral talks, the two Defence Ministers shall review the bilateral defence cooperation between India and Mongolia,and explore new initiatives to further strengthen bilateral engagements. The two leaders will also exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest.

Rajnath Singh will also call upon the President of Mongolia, U. Khurelsukh and Chairman of the State Great Khural of Mongolia, G Zandanshatar.

India and Mongolia share a strategic partnership and defence is a key pillar of this partnership. The two democracies have a common interest in fostering peace and prosperity in the entire region.

The bilateral defence engagements with Mongolia have been expanding over a period of time to include wide-ranging contacts between the two countries, including Joint Working Group meetings, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes and bilateral exercises.

Upon reaching Japan, the Defence Minister will attend the 2+2 Ministerial Level Dialogue in the capital city of Tokyo.

Recently, in the weekly presser, the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson, Arindam Bagchi said, "The 2+2 with Japan is something that we are looking at."

Highlighting 2+2 talks as a reflection of close coordination and collaboration with both the Quad partners as well as bilateral partners, Bagchi described the meeting with Japan as a crucial one as it is one of the few countries with which India conducts a 2+2 ministerial dialogue.

Earlier, Bagchi termed the India-Japan 2+2 ministerial meeting as an opportunity to review security cooperation between the two nations.

India-Japan 2+2 will be the second such meeting between the two countries as the inaugural meeting of the India-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) was held on November 30, 2019, in New Delhi.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar met the then Foreign Affairs Minister of Japan, Motegi Toshimitsu and then Defense Minister of Japan Kono Taro, on November 30, 2019, in New Delhi for the first India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Meeting.

The ministers had affirmed that this dialogue will further enhance the strategic depth of bilateral security and defence cooperation. Acknowledging emerging security challenges, the ministers reiterated their commitment to advancing bilateral security cooperation based on the 2008 Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation and the 2009 Action Plan to advance Security Cooperation.

(ANI)

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