A delegation led by the Parliamentary Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Mr Kentaro SONOURA, met the Union Minister of State for Culture (Independent Charge), Tourism (Independent Charge), and Civil Aviation, Dr. Mahesh Sharma in New Delhi today. They discussed various issues ranging from World Heritage Sites, rich culture and heritage of India and Japan and the restoration of the Historical/Cultural sites of quake-hit Nepal.Dr Mahesh Sharma said that India shares a strong bonding with Japan and India is proud of these relations. The Minister said that India is overwhelmed by the welcome given by Japan to the Prime Minister, Dr Narendra Modi during his visit there. He also said that Shri Narendra Modi signed a deal with his Japanese counterpart Mr Shinzo Abe to convert Varanasi into a 'smart heritage city' on the Kyoto model during his visit to Japan. Dr Mahesh Sharma said that the relations of Japan and India have reached a new height and India shares the vision of Japan in promoting cultural heritage. Both India and Japan together have a large share of world’s cultural heritage and there is a lot of potential in exploring it jointly, he added.
While discussing the recent tragedy of Nepal, Dr. Mahesh Sharma said that India and Japan can join hands for the conservation of the heritage sites that have been damaged by the recent earthquake. He said that the restoration work of Shri Pashupatinath Temple is already being carried out by the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) and reconstruction and restoration work can be jointly taken by the India and Japan for other temples in Nepal. Kentaro SONOURA said that both the countries should contribute to the long-term cooperation in the construction of Nepal and experts should assess the damage that has been done there. Responding to his suggestion, Dr Mahesh Sharma said that the rescue and relief operations are nearly drawing to a close in Nepal and the assessment of work required for restoring historical/cultural sites can be taken up once the reconstruction work starts there. Both sides to further enhance their Cultural ties. Senior officials of the Ministry of Culture were also present at the meeting.