India holds key to world peace and prosperity, says Japanese Ambassador Hiroshi Suzuki

“India holds the key to ensuring peace and prosperity around the world. India holds the G20 presidency this year. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair the G20 summit in September. Prime Minister (Japanese) Fumio Kishida is the chair of the G7, so the close synergy between India and Japan is more important than ever,” Suzuki said.

Speaking after the inauguration of the 11th Japan Festival at the Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA), Suzuki stressed the need for people-to-people exchange to strengthen ties between the two countries. India assumed the chairmanship of the G20 – a premier forum for international economic cooperation – on December 1, 2022. The G20 summit will be hosted in New Delhi in September this year. Japan will host the annual G7 summit in May in Hiroshima.

The Japanese diplomat said culture is the pillar that underpins the “special partnership” between India and Japan, which is comprehensive and strategic and encompasses broad areas of security, political and economic cooperation.”

“All this will have to be supported by the people. That is why the exchange between people – the exchange of young people – is important. So I say to the young students: you will be the bridge of the future, you will be the door – beacon of advancing India-Japan partnership in the future,” he said.

Suzuki also recalled his visit to Ahmedabad in 2017 with then Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “Abe (now deceased) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had deep respect for each other, and they have come together to create this very special partnership,” Suzuki added.

He also recalled Abe’s wife, Akie Abe, visiting the AMA in 2017, when she interacted with people from the Japan Center of AMA and also donated books.

“(Former) Prime Minister Abe was also deeply involved in selecting the best books that he and Mrs. Abe wanted to donate to the people of Gujarat so that the friendship would be even deeper in the future,” Suzuki said. .

The year 2023 also marks the golden jubilee of student exchange between Gujarat University and Otemon Gakuin University which started in 1972, he said. “Culture is a bridge between nations. Different nations have different languages, different ways of thinking, but the exchange between people, a cultural exchange can easily transcend all these obstacles,” Suzuki said, adding that he was happy to see Gujarati singing. , dancing and interacting with the Japanese at the AMA.

The Indo-Japan Friendship Association, Gujarat, welcomed Suzuki and other delegates.

The Japan festival, which will run until February 2, features an exhibition on Japanese manga artist Katsushika Hokusai, workshops on Zen-Kaizen, a music fusion program, an origami workshop, and more.