Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday affirmed India and Japan’s commitment to a free, open, peaceful, prosperous, and rules-based Indo-Pacific while announcing that both countries have decided to further strengthen mutual cooperation in defence industry and innovation.
Modi said New Delhi and Tokyo have set a goal of Japan investing 10 trillion yen ($68b) in India over the next decade. Special emphasis will be laid on collaborations between small and medium enterprises and startups in the two nations, he said.
“India and Japan are fully committed to a free, open, peaceful, prosperous, and rules-based Indo-Pacific,” said Modi. “We have common concerns on terrorism and cyber security.”
“Our shared interests are linked to Defence and Maritime Security. We have decided to further strengthen mutual cooperation in the field of defence industry and innovation,” he added. Modi was addressing a news conference jointly with his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba following the 15th India-Japan annual summit in Tokyo.
The two sides announced signings of more than a dozen documents to expand strategic, defence, and economic ties. It includes the India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade- 10-year strategic prioritisation for economic and functional cooperation in eight areas-economic partnership, economic security, mobility, ecological sustainability, technology and innovation, health, people to people and state-prefecture engagements.
A Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation was also signed with the aim of bolstering defence and security cooperation to respond to contemporary security challenges in line with the bilateral Special Strategic and Global Partnership. This involves increasing joint exercises and advancing maritime security partnership.
The two sides condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, including cross-border terrorism, and strived to work together for an immediate end to material and financial support to terror activities, besides working together at multilateral fora to counter terrorism.
An Action Plan for India-Japan Human Resource Exchange to promote two-way exchange of 500,000 people was also announced following the Summit.
A Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of mineral resources was announced to advance cooperation in supply chain resilience for critical minerals. India and Japan also launched the Economic Security Initiative to promote supply chain resilience in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, clean energy, telecom, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, and new and emerging technologies.
Modi called his discussions with Ishiba “productive and purposeful.” He further said, “We both agree that as the world’s two largest economies and vibrant democracies, our partnership is extremely important not only for our two countries but also for global peace and stability.”
“The participation of India and Japan will not be limited to Delhi and Tokyo only. Now the bond between Indian States and Japanese prefectures will deepen through institutional cooperation. This will open new doors for trade, tourism, education, and cultural exchanges,” said Modi.
