Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was scheduled to visit Japan early in July has now postponed the trip given that the Budget session is set to begin on 7 July. This will be the Modi government's first budget session. However, Modi is expected to keep his calendar marked for his Brazil visit later next month to attend the BRICS summit.
The trilateral dialogue between India, the United States and Japan that was to be held on 24 June has also been deferred over scheduling issues, as reported by the Press Trust of India.
Modi was expected to visit Japan on 3 July for a two-day trip, but as the government is preparing to roll out its first Union Budget for 2014-15, which Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is scheduled to deliver on 11 July, the trip has been postponed.
"In view of the ensuing budget session, it seems unlikely that he will be able to visit Japan before the same," sources from the Modi government were quoted by the Times of India.
In his Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Modi had decided that the Parliament will be convened in the first week of July.
Modi's visit to Japan would have marked his second foreign trip after taking over as the Prime Minister of the country, not long after he concluded his two-day Bhutan visit on 15 June. Modi's Bhutan visit was termed as successful by the Ministry of External Affairs, and he even received a warm response to his speech in the Bhutanese Parliament.
But now, Brazil could be the second country that Modi will visit for the BRICS Summit scheduled between 15 July and 17 July, while his trip to Japan could be slated for later. The BRICS Summit will mark Modi's first multilateral foreign visit. Modi was keen on making Japan his first bilateral visit, but will now have to visit the archipelago nation some time after the Parliament session is concluded, according to the TOI report.
The leaders of the two nations had shared pleasantries via social media last month after Modi's victory.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is said to follow only three people on Twitter, of which Modi happens to be one, had tweeted – "Great talking to you, Mr. Modi. I look forward to welcoming you in Tokyo and further deepening our friendly ties.", as reported by The Guardian.
Modi had replied with a tweet that said - "I am sure we will take India-Japan ties to newer heights."
During his January visit to India, Abe was quoted as saying that the two nations had "the greatest potential of any bilateral relationship anywhere in the world."
