NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi are holding bilateral talks in New Delhi on Thursday as part of the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit, with both countries expected to deepen cooperation across strategic, economic and regional priorities.
The summit comes during Prime Minister Takaichi’s first official visit to India from July 1 to 3 and is expected to review the full spectrum of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. Several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) are likely to be exchanged following the talks.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Takaichi was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan, where Prime Minister Modi received the visiting leader. Marching contingents drawn from the Army, Navy and Air Force, along with a military band, presented a ceremonial guard of honour.
Following the ceremony, Takaichi, accompanied by Prime Minister Modi, met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and other members of the Union Council of Ministers. The ministers welcomed the Japanese Prime Minister with folded hands, a gesture she reciprocated before the two leaders posed for photographs.
Prime Minister Takaichi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday on a three-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.
Welcoming her on social media, Modi wrote, “A very warm welcome to India, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. We are delighted to host you on your first visit to India, and I look forward to our wide-ranging discussions tomorrow that will further deepen the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. Through our joint efforts, we will continue to advance peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
The India-Japan Annual Summit remains the principal platform guiding the strategic partnership between the two countries. The two leaders most recently interacted during the G7 Summit in France, having earlier met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg last November.
Economic security has emerged as an increasingly important pillar of bilateral cooperation. During the first India-Japan Economic Security Dialogue held in Tokyo in November 2024, both countries identified semiconductors, critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, and information and communication technology as priority sectors for strategic collaboration.
The outcome of Thursday’s summit is expected to further strengthen cooperation in these sectors while reinforcing the two countries’ shared commitment to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.
