Plans to hold an annual India-Japan summit in Assam have failed due to the Japanese Prime Minister’s tight agenda and logistical issues, and the meeting is now scheduled to be held in New Delhi, sources familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaishi is expected to make her first official visit to India from July 1-3 to attend the annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As of Monday, planning was focused on the summit to be held in Guwahati, the main city in Assam state, to reflect Japan’s long-term commitment to the development of India’s strategic northeastern region.
However, due to Takaishi’s domestic commitments, including the ongoing session of the Diet or Diet of Japan, the period between her proposed arrival in India and her departure is very narrow, the people said.
“In light of this and the additional logistical issues associated with a flight out of the national capital, the meeting is now likely to be held in New Delhi,” one of the people said. “This will also accommodate some programming elements that both sides are keen on to enhance bilateral relations.”
The Assam government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has done all it can to prepare for the Japanese Prime Minister’s expected visit, including preparations for a roadshow for the two prime ministers in Guwahati on July 1. A five-star resort on the outskirts of Guwahati was also chosen as the venue for the summit.
Takaishi will accompany a delegation of about 50 business leaders to attend the annual summit, and economic security, resilient supply chains, semiconductors, critical minerals, defence, technology and the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed rail project are expected to top the agenda of the meeting, the people said.
Japan is the only country that has an exclusive and independent framework with India for the development of the northeastern states – the East Law Forum, which is chaired by the Indian Foreign Minister and the Japanese envoy – and Tokyo has provided more than $Rs 1,600 crore of foreign development aid to the region, excluding Arunachal Pradesh.
The annual summit was originally scheduled to be held in Guwahati in December 2019 but was canceled due to widespread protests in Assam over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
At their last summit in Tokyo in 2025, the two countries set a target of 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) of private investment in India over a decade, and finalized a 10-year roadmap to deepen economic cooperation in technology, digitalization and rare earths.
