According to a news statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Foreign Minister Kenji Yamada will go to New Delhi, India, from March 1 to 3 in order to attend the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Conference.
In light of the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mr. Kenji stated, “In this conference, we will take our position and efforts as Japan, the G7 president, on significant problems in the current world situation, such as multilateralism, food and energy security, and development cooperation.”
Earlier, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi indicated he will not attend the G20 summit because of a clash with a Diet (Japan’s parliament) session. As Japan gets ready to host the Group of Seven summit in May, the revelation drew condemnation from lawmakers and the general public on social media. Some claimed it was a missed opportunity to demonstrate leadership.
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Goshi Hosono, a politician for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, expressed sorrow over the decision on Twitter, “It’s a regrettable decision that means forfeiting a chance to emphasize the importance of the rule of law to the developing countries that take part in G-20.”
The current government of Japan has made strengthening ties with India a top priority as it looks for allies other than its lone treaty ally, the United States, to combat security concerns posed by countries like China.
India will preside over the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM), which will be physically held in New Delhi on March 1-2, 2023. Sergey Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, will attend the meeting in New Delhi along with Antony Blinken, the secretary of state of the United States, James Cleverly, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, Qin Gang, and Penny Wong, the foreign minister of Australia.
The G20 foreign ministers are anticipated to hear from Indian Prime Minister Modi, who will discuss India’s expanding global importance.