Japan's Press Secretary Toshihiro Kitamura on Thursday stated that both India and Japan are committed to working together to achieve their respective national goals: India's Viksit Bharat and Japan's strong economy. Speaking to ANI, Kitamura emphasized India's role as a key partner for regional peace and security and highlighted the strategic cooperation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
First Visit and Strategic Partnership
Kitamura noted that Prime Minister Takaichi's visit to India for the annual summit marked her first trip to the country since taking office in October. He described India as a key partner for Japan in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, stating, "Japan and India share common fundamental values and strategic interests. And India is a key partner for Japan in realising a free and open Indo-Pacific. And the strengthening of cooperation with India is essential for regional peace and security."
The two nations define their relationship as a "special strategic and global partner," and Kitamura believes this partnership will only grow stronger. "We would like to work together in order to address both globally and bilaterally," he added.
Economic Goals and Collaboration
Kitamura stressed the importance of economic cooperation, noting that India's target of Viksit Bharat aligns with Japan's goal of a strong economy. "We would like to further strengthen our relationship and cooperation so that both countries can achieve economic growth," he said. He emphasized that both public and private sectors would work together to promote economic ties.
Three Key Areas of Cooperation
According to Kitamura, the two prime ministers focused on three main areas: strategic cooperation, economic and energy security, and investment and innovation. In strategic cooperation, they agreed to broaden and strengthen ties in fields including maritime security, given the current international situation.
For economic and energy security, five priority areas were identified: semiconductors, information and communication technologies, critical minerals, clean energy, and pharmaceuticals. "We consider that the supply chain resilience is an important issue for both countries," Kitamura said, adding that concrete projects would move forward in these areas.
Investment and AI Cooperation
The third key point involves cooperation between Japanese and Indian companies in investment and innovation, especially in emerging fields like artificial intelligence. Kitamura confirmed that both governments would support companies to promote investment in the AI sector.
Following the summit, the two leaders adopted three documents: a Japan-India Joint Statement, a Joint Declaration on Economic Security, and a Joint Declaration on cooperation in AI. They also adopted numerous other cooperation documents.
Expanded AI and Business Agreements
During Takaichi's three-day visit, India and Japan significantly expanded AI cooperation, agreeing to jointly develop a "safe, secure, trustworthy, inclusive, human-centric, sustainable, accountable, and innovation-orientated AI ecosystem" across the entire technology stack. Additionally, Japan announced 129 memorandums of understanding with India at the Japan-India Joint Economic Forum.
Prime Minister Modi described the partnership as "futuristic and limitless," with agreements signed in economic security, AI, defence, and health sectors.
