Positioning economic security and energy resilience as the defining pillars of the next phase of their bilateral ties, India and Japan Thursday unveiled a raft of initiatives in this direction amid shifting geopolitics and global energy disruptions owing to the West Asia crisis.
These include a joint roadmap on economic security, a new framework on mobility, and an artificial intelligence (AI) partnership.
“In the environment of global turbulence today, mutual trust is our biggest strategic asset,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his joint media statement alongside visiting Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi.
Takaichi linked the new initiatives to the changing geopolitical environment, saying both countries faced challenges arising from “economic weaponisation and non-market practices” and needed to urgently build resilient critical mineral supply chains.
Addressing Takaichi as his younger sister, and welcoming her on her first visit to India as Prime Minister, Modi said, “The economies of India and Japan are complementary. From cultural values to modern technology, there is similarity in our thinking and approach as well.”
“And above all, the foundation of our relations rests on unbreakable mutual trust,” he said, reflecting the growing convergence between the two countries.
Takaichi said that both leaders were on the same page to develop this relationship as brother and sister. She also noted that in the area of energy security impacted by the West Asia situation, both Japan and India bear the responsibility to provide for region-wide energy security.
“You called me a beautiful younger sister, Prime Minister Modi. But at the small meeting before the big meeting, we confirmed that we are on the same page and develop this relationship as brother and sister,” she said.
“Japan and India must leverage our respective strengths to become stronger and more prosperous together in the midst of international affairs in disarray. The establishment of such an inter-complementary cooperative relationship has become ever more important,” she said.
The two sides also moved to deepen maritime and defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific with plans for more naval exercises, defence technology collaboration, and an early convening of the India-Japan 2+2 ministerial dialogue.
Stressing that “economic security is shared security and energy transition is shared opportunity”, Modi said India and Japan had prepared a joint roadmap to strengthen supply chain resilience in semiconductors, quantum technologies, and advanced materials. He said the two countries had also launched an initiative to build 1,000 biogas and organic fertiliser plants in India, complementing the Centre’s GOBARdhan programme, besides expanding cooperation in batteries, green hydrogen and nuclear energy.
“As both countries face challenges such as economic weaponisation and non-market practices, we need to urgently build resilience in our critical minerals supply chains,” Takaichi said, announcing the move that is aimed at tackling China’s monopoly on critical minerals.
She also referred to disruptions in global energy markets arising from the situation in West Asia and announced the launch of a bilateral dialogue to strengthen India’s petroleum stockpiling system. Japan, she said, would continue to support India’s bid for membership of the International Energy Agency.
On the joint roadmap for economic security, Modi said, “Through this, we will strengthen supply chain resilience in strategic areas such as semiconductors, quantum, and advanced materials.”
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the talks delivered concrete progress on key priorities. Both sides adopted three landmark documents: Joint Declaration on Economic Security, Joint Statement on Cooperation in the field of Artificial Intelligence, Joint Statement on Energy Resilience.
Takaichi also noted the alignment between India’s MAHASAGAR policy and Japan’s vision of a free and open Indo Pacific. “Prime Minister Modi positions the ocean as a shared space that supports regional stability and growth and is promoting the MAHASAGAR Initiative for countries across the Indian Ocean to defend their sovereignty and the sea through their own efforts; this is perfectly aligned with FOIP (Free and Open Indo Pacific policy),” she said, referring to the vision first mooted by the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2016.
“We agreed to deepen the strategic cooperation between Japan and India to achieve such common goals. Expansion of maritime security cooperation is especially important for regional peace and stability,” she said, adding that Japan and India must leverage their respective strengths to become stronger and more prosperous together.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi positioned economic and energy security as the defining pillars of the next phase of bilateral ties between the two countries. (Express Photo by Renuka Puri) 
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