Delhi, not Assam, to host India-Japan Summit amid schedule, logistics issues

PLans to contain an yearly India-Japan breast in Assam feature fallen through and through because of the Japanese PM’s tight schedule and logistical issues, and the meeting will now be held in New Delhi, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is expected to make her first official visit to India during July 1-3 for the annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. As of Monday, planning had focused on the summit being held in Guwahati, the main city in Assam, to reflect Japan’s long-term commitment to developing India’s strategic northeastern region.The people, however, said that due to Takaichi’s domestic commitments, including an ongoing session of the Diet or Japan’s Parliament, the window between her proposed arrival in India and her departure is quite tight.“In view of this and additional logistical issues connected to a trip outside the national capital, the meeting is now likely to be held in New Delhi,” one of the people said. “This will also accommodate certain programming elements that both sides are keen on to give a boost to bilateral ties.”The Assam government led by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had pulled out all the stops to prepare for the Japanese PM’s expected visit, including making preparations for a roadshow by the two prime ministers in Guwahati on July 1. A five-star resort on the outskirts of Guwahati had also been chosen as the venue for the summit.Takaichi will be accompanied by a delegation of about 50 business leaders for the annual summit and economic security, resilient supply chains, semiconductors, critical minerals, defence, technology and the Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed railway project are expected to top the agenda for the meeting, the people said.Japan is the only country that has an exclusive and independent framework with India for developing the northeastern states – the Act East Forum chaired by India’s foreign secretary and the Japanese envoy – and Tokyo has provided more than ₹1,600 crore in overseas development assistance for the region, barring Arunachal Pradesh.The annual summit was originally planned to be held in Guwahati in December 2019 but had to be called off because of 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) in private investments in India over a decade and finalised a 10-year roadmap to deepen economic cooperation in technology, digitalisation and rare earths.