Japan and India will agree this month to establish two high-powered joint panels -- one of prominent private-sector experts and another of high-level government officials -- to develop and strengthen bilateral relations, government sources said Friday.
The agreement will be made during Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's talks with his Indian counterpart, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in New Delhi, the sources said.
Mori, who took office in early April and survived crucial Lower House elections in late June, will leave Aug. 19 on an eight-day tour of four South Asian countries -- India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. Mori will be the first Japanese leader to visit the South Asian region since Toshiki Kaifu's visit 10 years ago.