Tokyo:India and Japan will use the first-ever strategic dialogue at the Foreign Minister's level here to follow up 'certain actions and programmes' in their emerging strategic relations, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said here today(Mar 22, 2007).

"It is a bilateral visit. After the visit to Japan by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in December 2006, our bilateral relations were raised to strategic partnership," Mukherjee told sources.

"Naturally, we would like to follow-up certain actions and programmes which were taken up during the Prime Minister's visit," he said ahead of his meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the strategic dialogue with Japanese Foreign Minister, Taro Aso and others.

Official sources said the strategic dialogue will help the two major Asian powers prepare a roadmap for firming up their nascent strategic relations.

During the dialogue, both ministers will exchange views on ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, as well as on direction of the cooperation between the two countries towards regional and international issues, Japanese Foreign Ministry sources said.

The decision to establish strategic dialogue mechanism was taken during the successful visit of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Tokyo in December last year.

Mukherjee is visiting Japan for the second time in less than a year. In May, 2006, Mukherjee, then Defence Minister, had paid an important visit to Japan.