Looking forward to work with new Japanese govt: India

NEW DELHI: India today said it is looking forward to build on the "strong foundation" of bilateral ties with Japan, which will see a new Prime Minister later this month.

"Japan and India have excellent bilateral relations. We have a strategic and global partnership which is very broad-based," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said here.

He added that since the signing of bilateral agreement, several Prime Ministers of Japan have worked very closely with India and "reaffirmed the validity of our relationships".

Japan's incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's is known as a close friend of India. New Delhi hopes the new government in Tokyo will be more decisive on strategic issues.

Incidentally, Abe in his previous stint as Prime Minister five years back, had replaced the term 'Asia-Pacific' with the concept of 'Indo-Pacific' Asia. Abe had stressed on deeper bilateral relations with India on all front, be it cultural, military or economic.

"As far as we in India are concerned, we look forward to the building on a strong foundation of our bilateral relations with the next Prime Minister of Japan," Akbaruddin said.

During his first tenure as Prime Minister, Abe worked on improving relations with fellow democracies, including India and Australia.