Strategic stockpiling to AI ecosystem, the India-Japan roadmap’s out

Towards energy resilience, both sides highlighted the importance of regional initiatives to strengthen energy resilience, such as India’s support for energy security in South Asia and Japan’s Partnership On Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia).

Following discussions between Modi and Takaichi, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry will cooperate on the strategic stockpiling ecosystem.

“Cooperation will focus on mechanisms related to national stockpiling systems and reserves, including industry stockpiles; and coordination regarding arrangements with producing countries, besides emergency response and market stabilisation,” said a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

New Delhi and Tokyo will also hold discussions under the India-Japan Joint Working Group on Petroleum and Natural Gas under the aegis of the India-Japan Energy Dialogue. () Express Photo by- Renuka Puri)

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of cooperation to address shared challenges of energy availability and affordability, through supply assurance, enhancing resilience and creating mechanisms to mitigate volatility, thereby strengthening the voice of oil and gas-consuming countries, the MEA said.

The joint statement on energy resilience also highlighted the importance of resilient, self-reliant, and efficient maritime transport of oil and gas as a critical pillar of energy security for both countries.

New Delhi and Tokyo will also hold discussions under the India-Japan Joint Working Group on Petroleum and Natural Gas under the aegis of the India-Japan Energy Dialogue. Through this platform, the two sides will share up-to-date knowledge and experience and explore mutually beneficial opportunities for cooperation.

In the AI domain, the joint statement said the two leaders concurred in cooperating to build resilient and growth-oriented economic ecosystems in alignment with India’s MAHASAGAR and Japan’s updated “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP)”.

“To this end, they committed to strengthen AI cooperation between India and Japan, with like-minded countries and partners, to support resilient and inclusive AI development in the Indo-Pacific and the Global South,” it said.

Modi and Takaichi also welcomed the vision of ‘AI for All’ advocated by the New Delhi Declaration adopted at the India AI Impact Summit in February this year, and reaffirmed their commitment to aim for AI to benefit all humanity, for inclusive and sustainable development, and to improve public services delivery, the MEA said.

Modi said the investment partnership between the two countries was gaining momentum, with 120 new business agreements signed over the past year and Japanese investments worth around $10 billion committed to India. (Express Photo by Renuka Puri)

Meanwhile, in the economic sector, India and Japan aimed to deepen their trade and strategic partnership by setting a target of mobilising 10 trillion yen in Japanese investment into India over the next decade.

Modi said the investment partnership between the two countries was gaining momentum, with 120 new business agreements signed over the past year and Japanese investments worth around $10 billion committed to India.

Takaichi said that cooperation between the two countries included co-creation of economic growth of both India and Japan through investment and innovation collaboration.

“This is economic growth. I am committed to realising a strong economy and aiming to enhance Japan’s supply capability and technological capabilities through investment in 17 strategic areas. Prime Minister Modi launched Viksit Bharat, a national goal to become a developed nation by 2047 and is strongly driving India’s growth. In this way, we share the goal of making our countries strong and prosperous through investments in the future,” she said.