Japanese Defence Minister calls on PM Modi
New Delhi, Aug 20 : As the Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday, Modi told the visiting dignitary that he looks forward to visiting Japan later this year, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said.
Onodera was on a two-day bilateral visit to India on August 19-20 at the invitation of Defence Minister of India Nirmala Sitharaman.
Recalling his long association with Japan since before assuming office as Prime Minister, Modi welcomed the broadening and deepening of the special strategic and global partnership between India and Japan in the recent years.
Modi warmly recalled the successful visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India last year, and said that "he is looking forward to visiting Japan later this year".
The Prime Minister said that defence cooperation is a key pillar of the relationship between the two countries.
"The Prime Minister welcomed the strengthening of various defence dialogue mechanisms between India and Japan, and the enhanced linkages between the armed forces of the two countries. He also appreciated the progress in defence technology cooperation between the two countries," said a PMO statement.
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'Saved 30 to 50 million lives': Trump repeats claim of ending India-Pakistan conflict, amid Iran war
Washington: US President Donald Trump has once again claimed that he ended the India-Pakistan conflict, stating that he “saved 30 to 50 million lives,” amid the ongoing war with Iran that has been going on for 6 weeks.
According to Hindustan Times, speaking at a press conference at the White House on Monday, Trump said he had played a key role in stopping multiple global conflicts.
“I ended 8 wars, including India and Pakistan, so much so that the Prime Minister of Pakistan told me that I saved 30 to 50 million lives,” HT quoted Trump as saying.
He repeated the claim a second time in the same press conference, saying that he stopped 8 wars, including the India-Pakistan conflict, and lamented again about not winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
The India-Pakistan tensions had escalated in May last year following Operation Sindoor, launched by India after the Pahalgam terror attack. Trump has repeatedly claimed that the 3-day conflict was ended by him, though India has repeatedly denied the claim.
“We have one more to end by the way,” Trump said, though he did not specify if the war in Iran, Ukraine or another global conflict was on his radar.
He also criticised NATO and key US allies, including South Korea, Japan, and Australia, for not supporting US efforts in addressing global conflicts and securing strategic routes like the Strait of Hormuz.
“You know who else didn’t help us? South Korea didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Australia didn’t help us. You know who else didn’t help us? Japan. We’ve got 50,000 soldiers in Japan to protect them from North Korea. We have 45,000 soldiers in South Korea to protect us from Kim Jong Un, who I get along with very well,” Trump said.
He described the consequences that Iran would face if it didn’t reach a deal with the US by his 8 PM ET Tuesday deadline.
“We have a plan, because of the power of our military, where every bridge in Iran will be decimated by 12 o’clock tomorrow night,” Trump said, adding that power plants could be “burning, exploding and never to be used again.”
Trump refused to say whether any civilian targets would be off limits in the U.S. response.
