Japan PM Takaichi heads to India for talks with PM Modi on strategic partnership
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will begin a three-day visit to India on Wednesday, with talks expected to focus on expanding trade and investment, strengthening
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will begin a three-day visit to India on Wednesday, with talks expected to focus on expanding trade and investment, strengthening strategic cooperation and deepening collaboration in critical technologies as New Delhi and Tokyo seek to bolster their partnership. Takaichi's visit, her first official trip to India since taking office, comes less than a year after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to Tokyo for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit. The two leaders are expected to hold wide-ranging discussions on trade, investment, defence, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, critical minerals and regional security. Read Full Story ANNUAL SUMMIT TO SET FUTURE ROADMAP PM Modi and Takaichi will co-chair the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit, the highest-level dialogue between the two countries that alternates between New Delhi and Tokyo. According to reports, the summit will review progress across trade, technology, infrastructure, defence cooperation and people-to-people exchanges while also addressing regional and global developments.
The leaders are expected to issue a joint statement outlining the next phase of bilateral cooperation. The visit is also expected to reaffirm the direction set during PM Modi's visit to Japan last year, when both countries agreed to deepen cooperation across security, economic resilience and innovation. ECONOMIC TIES IN FOCUS Economic cooperation is expected to dominate the talks. Both sides will focus on boosting investment and innovation while strengthening resilient supply chains in sectors considered vital to national security, including semiconductors, batteries and critical minerals. India and Japan are also expected to discuss expanding cooperation in pharmaceuticals, advanced manufacturing and clean energy. Expected outcome documents include memorandums of understanding covering artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, battery technology and critical minerals. GREEN ENERGY AND BUSINESS COOPERATION The leaders are expected to discuss several major investment proposals, including a large-scale green ammonia project in Odisha, expanding cooperation in biogas and strengthening regional energy resilience through the POWERR Asia initiative.
Takaichi will also participate in the India-Japan Business Forum, where business leaders from both countries are expected to explore new investment opportunities. Around 1,400 Japanese companies currently operate in India, nearly half of them in the manufacturing sector. Japanese companies have also expanded their presence in India's financial sector, including a recent $1.6 billion investment for a 20 per cent stake in Yes Bank. The leaders are also expected to review progress under the Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, which both countries see as central to ensuring stability, secure sea lanes and a rules-based regional order. India and Japan are key members of the Quad grouping alongside the United States and Australia, and defence cooperation between New Delhi and Tokyo has steadily expanded in recent years through military exercises, technology partnerships and strategic dialogue. PARTNERSHIP CONTINUES TO GROW India and Japan elevated their relationship to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014, and cooperation has broadened significantly over the past decade.
The BriefWire