Japan Foreign Minister To Visit India On March 3 To Attend Quad Meet

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is likely to make a quick visit to India to attend a meeting of his counterparts from the Quad countries on March 3 though he is skipping the G20 foreign ministerial meeting, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Japan has sent minister of state for foreign affairs Kenji Yamada for the G20 foreign ministers' meeting after Hayashi decided not to attend it because of a "scheduling conflict" with the parliament session.

The Indian and Japanese sides are working on a possible visit to India by Hayashi primarily for the Quad meeting, those familiar with the developments said.

The QUAD meeting is scheduled to be attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Hayashi's decision to not travel to India for the G20 foreign ministers' meeting had triggered uncertainty over the Quad dialogue.

At least two Japanese media outlets also reported that Foreign Minister Hayashi is set to attend the meeting of top diplomats from the 'Quad' nations hosted by India.

Asked about Hayashi deciding to skip the G20 meeting, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a media briefing that India and Japan have enjoyed starling cooperation when it comes to deliberations within the G20 setting.

"We understand that the Japanese foreign minister himself is not able to come because of domestic compulsions. But we are looking forward to very active participation, active support, active discussions and consultation with the Japanese delegation," he said. 

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