Amid China’s increasing hostile behaviour towards its neighbours on maritime issues, India and Japan on Friday emphasised the crucial role of a strong and enduring partnership between them in ensuring a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific region that is inclusive and rules-based.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar concluded the 15th India-Japan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi here last night. The meeting provided an opportunity to the two sides to review the progress made in the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) today said.

The ministers engaged in comprehensive discussions covering a wide range of issues of bilateral, regional, and global significance. They highlighted the importance of further strengthening India-Japan partnership based on shared values and principles.

They underlined the importance of achieving the target of JPY 5 trillion Japanese investment in India in the period 2022-27. They explored potential areas of collaboration in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors; resilient supply chains; and digital public infrastructure, among others.

The ministers also expressed satisfaction at the strengthening defense and security cooperation, including regular exercises and staff talks between all three services. In this context, they discussed way forward to deepen Defense Equipment and Technology Cooperation.

The two ministers exchanged views on regional and global issues of interest. They also discussed cooperation under multilateral and plurilateral frameworks, including Quad. They agreed on the need for early reforms of the UNSC. They also exchanged views on their respective G20 and G7 presidencies.

Noting the celebration of 2023 as the Year of India-Japan Tourism Exchanges with the theme of ‘Connecting Himalayas with Mount Fuji’, the ministers acknowledged the importance of people-to-people exchanges. They also discussed ways to promote movement of skilled human resources from India to Japan.