Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's mid-September visit to India was a triumphant success. The abiding memory for me will be the fetching photo of the prime minister and his wife looking resplendent in elegant Indian dress. In addition to a ¥190 billion low-interest loan for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train and other infrastructure projects, they welcomed the civilian nuclear cooperation agreement that came into force in July and agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in defense equipment and technology.
They also affirmed the importance of India-Japan ties to the regional order. India was pleased Japan agreed to name two Pakistan-based terror groups in their joint statement, and Tokyo was satisfied with India's condemnation of North Korea's nuclearization. They also "stressed the importance of holding accountable all parties that have supported North Korea's nuclear and missile programs," code for suspected Chinese and Pakistani complicity.
More important than the specific achievements of any one leader-level visit are the structural forces undergirding the relationship.