India, Japan hold Foreign Office Consultations

New Delhi, Nov 13 (UNI) India and Japan today held a detailed review of bilateral relations, both political and economic, for adding more substance and depth to their partnership.

Regional issues as well as global challenges were also discussed at the Foreign Office Consultations held here this morning, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman said.

The focus of the discussions was on preparing the agenda for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Japan.

The Prime Minister is likely to visit Japan in December.

The Indian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon while the Japanese side was headed by Deputy Minister, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Tsuneo Nishida.

The consultations also continued over a working lunch.

Follow-up work on several issues will now continue, the spokesman added.

Mr Nishida will also call on External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Mr Shyam Saran, Prime Minister's Special Envoy on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

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