Indian, Japan hold talks ahead of PM's Tokyo visit

New Delhi: Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s likely visit to Tokyo mid-November, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and Defence Secretary Shashikant Sharma will be travelling to to Japan for the Two-plus-Two dialogue that will help map the way forward on key issues in bilateral relations. Two-Plus-Two Dialogue is the framework which was agreed to establish by the Prime Ministers of Japan and India at the Annual Summit in  December 2009,  to advance security cooperation between Japan and India. The dialogue, to be held on 22-23 October, will cover a wide gamut of bilateral issues as well as global developments, Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of the external affairs ministry, told reporters here on Thursday. [caption id=“attachment_495536” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Manmohan Singh. AFP[/caption] This is the second time that the two countries would hold the dialogue in the Two-plus-Two format. The first such dialogue was held in July 2010. Mathai will meet Japan’s vice foreign minister. During the talks, the two sides are expected to review the progress in the negotiations between them over a civil nuclear energy agreement. During the energy dialogue in Tokyo last week, Japan had conveyed to India its keen desire for civil nuclear cooperation. The two sides will review the status of the ongoing mega projects such as the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) and the Dedicated Freight Corridor besides exchanging views on the Japanese overseas development assistance being given to India. The defence secretaries will conduct a defence policy dialogue that will cover issues like maritime security, cyber security and space and discuss naval exercises. With China becoming increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, the two sides are also expected to discuss these issues. “The idea is to traverse all issues of mutual interest leading up to the likely visit of the prime minister later during the year,” said Akbaruddin. Manmohan Singh is likely to hold talks with Japan’s Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in November. IANS