India-Japan's mutual activities, especially in Quad, solution to many world and regional issues: Jaishankar

Tokyo: Many solutions for India and Japan nationally as well as for the region and the world lie in their activities together, especially in the Quad, External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said on Friday, asserting that the two nations are convergent on the "big picture".

Speaking at the Nikkei Forum on the India-Japan partnership here, Jaishankar said India and Japan's inclination and ability to respond in a more coordinated manner has also improved.

"And I say this after a long discussion yesterday with my counterpart Minister Yoko Kamikawa. We are convergent on the big picture." "My argument is that India-Japan ties will both draw strength from our larger activities together, especially from the Quad but also contribute to its effectiveness and its breadth," he said.

"The bottom line is that the world is changing, the Indo-Pacific is changing, and India and Japan are changing, but in our relationship, many solutions for us nationally, as well as region and for the world lie there," he added.

The Quad, comprising India, the US, Japan and Australia, has been focusing on practical cooperation to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China's increasing military muscle-flexing in the region.

India, the US and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the region.

On a question whether there is any nuclear strategic planning under the Quad framework to address climate change through energy, he said: "The Quad has discussed energy and technology issues but we have not had an explicit coordinated discussion on nuclear energy per se." "If you look at the Quad countries, there are three of us - Japan, the US and India -- we have very substantial nuclear programmes...Australia is a very big uranium provider. So, we have a common interest in it.

"But, you know in the case of Quad what I have seen since 2017, we are actually moving very, very rapidly, almost every Quad meeting every time the foreign ministers meet every time the leaders meet, more and more issues are getting added on. So, you know, maybe next time we talk, I might have a different answer than I have right now," he said.