Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida announced a plan to promote an open and free Indo-Pacific region, with promises of investing billions of dollars to aid economies in industries such as disaster prevention. The initiative is viewed as Tokyo's attempt to strengthen ties with countries in South and Southeast Asia to counter China's increasing assertiveness in the area. During his talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, Kishida also expressed Japan's desire for Russia's invasion of Ukraine to end as soon as possible and called on the Global South to show solidarity. By 2030, Japan has pledged to provide USD75bn to the region through private investment and yen loans, as well as an increase in aid through official governmental assistance and grants.