“Between India and Japan of course, we have a special strategic and global partnership and that signals that our ties have a larger implication, larger importance, larger impact and one example of that will be tomorrow when we meet in the Quad format to discuss how to advance free and open Indo-Pacific,” Jaishankar said in his opening remarks at the meeting.
Also Read: India-Japan seek to advance coop in critical minerals, semiconductors & ICT
“Today, I look forward to discussing bilateral cooperation, to discussing global and regional issues and I think particularly in this current situation what is happening in West Asia or the Middle East is important because we are both energy importing nations. We are big trading nations. We have maritime interests. I would also like to discuss with you economic security issues because I think today that is very important, a concern for all major economies,” he added.
In his opening remarks, Toshimitsu Motegi noted that world is facing most significant structural change in the post-war era due to shifts in the balance of power and escalating conflicts.
“Now, the world is faced with the most significant structural change in the post-war era, driven by shifts in the balance of power and the intensification of conflict and confrontations. And as Jai, you rightly pointed out, the security environment has become increasingly severe. Against such backdrop, at the outset of the Foreign Ministerial Strategic Dialogue in January, Jai stated that Japan and India not only have opportunities, but also we have and we share an obligation and responsibility to shape the international order. That was really encouraging,” he said.
Also Read: Japan to create special cell to push FDI into India“Earlier this month, Prime Minister Takaichi and I delivered policy speeches on updating Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) in Vietnam and Kenya, respectively. The key points of the update was to help countries obtain resilience and capability to decide for themselves across all domains of economy, society, and security and we aim to advance cooperation tailored to each country’s needs so that the entire region can become more resilient and prosperous together. To that end, Japan and India indeed need to serve as the driving force of such initiative and I look forward to working closely with you also through the Quad framework,” he added.
The Japanese Foreign Minister also explored on strengthening defence industry partnership with India amid challenges in the East Asian theatre, it has been learnt. The two Ministers also discussed on strengthening economic security cooperation.
India and Japan are keen to advance industrial and technological collaboration in five sectors — critical minerals, semiconductors, ICT including AI and telecom, clean energy and pharmaceuticals.