With renewed push, Kishida looks to put his own stamp on Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategy
Japanese Prime Minister KISHIDA Fumio is looking to put his stamp on Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” (FOIP) framework, using a visit to India this week to unveil a new plan that includes a massive new infrastructure and economic assistance program for countries in the “Global South.”
Kishida laid out the ambitious plan to promote the FOIP strategy on Monday, pledging $75 billion in investment to aid economies across the region — and beyond — in an attempt to bolster ties with countries in the Global South, a term used to refer to developing nations in areas such as Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Our FOIP is becoming more important than ever in the pursuit of the goal of leading the international community toward cooperation rather than division and confrontation,” the prime minister said, emphasizing the importance of “rule-making through dialogue.”
As part of the plan, Kishida said Japan would pledge $75 billion via private investment and yen loans and by ramping up aid through official governmental assistance and grants. The prime minister also said that Tokyo would make a new contribution of $100 million to the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) and will revamp the Japan-ASEAN Connectivity Initiative, which supports transport and logistics projects as well as person-to-person exchanges
