PM Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida will hold summit talks on Saturday

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida will hold summit talks on Saturday with a focus on strengthening bilateral ties in diverse areas and advancing cooperation for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.

External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said the Japanese Prime Minister will pay a two-day visit to India beginning Saturday for the 14th India-Japan summit.

"At the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of Japan Kishida Fumio will be undertaking an official visit to New Delhi from March 19-20 for the 14th India-Japan annual summit," Mr Bagchi said at a media briefing.

"The summit would be the first meeting of the two leaders. The previous India-Japan annual summit took place in Tokyo in October 2018," he said.

Mr Bagchi said the summit will be held on Saturday.

India and Japan have multi-faceted cooperation within the ambit of their 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership', he said.

The situation in Ukraine is also likely to figure in the Modi-Kishida talks.

"The summit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review and strengthen the bilateral cooperation in diverse areas as well as exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest so as to advance their partnership for peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond," Mr Bagchi said.

The previous India-Japan annual summit took place in Tokyo in October 2018.

The annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his then Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe was cancelled in December 2019 in Guwahati in the wake of massive protests rocking the Assam capital over the amended citizenship law.

The summit could not be held in 2020 as well as in 2021 primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Japan is set to hold an in-person summit of Quad leaders this year and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend it.