NEW DELHI: India and Japan agreed on Thursday to boost cooperation in artificial intelligence, metals, energy and defense as well as prepare a joint roadmap for economic security, as the Asian nations sought to further strengthen their ties. The agreements were signed after talks between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi, who is on a three-day visit to New Delhi.
“Japan and India will leverage each other’s strengths to grow strong and prosperous together,” Takaichi told reporters after the talks. “Amid a turbulent international landscape, building such a mutually complementary cooperative relationship has become increasingly important.”
Her visit follows a trip by Modi to Tokyo last year, when Japan pledged to more than double its investment in India to more than $61 billion over the next decade, highlighting deepening economic ties. Bilateral trade between the two countries reached $27.5 billion in fiscal year 2025/26, while Japanese investment in India was $3.2 billion between April and December 2025, according to Indian government data.
The two leaders held “wide-ranging talks on the full spectrum of India-Japan ties, including trade and investment, economic security, energy, emerging technologies, defense and people-to-people exchanges”, the Indian foreign ministry said. Both sides adopted three “landmark” documents on economic security, energy resilience and AI, it added. “The convergence of Japan’s precision technology and India’s software capabilities will give a new momentum and strength to global AI development,” Modi told reporters.
Neither prime minister took questions. Modi said the two countries, which are also members of the Quad grouping, signed an agreement on their first co-development project in the defense sector. Australia and the US are the other two members of the Quad grouping, which is widely seen as a bloc formed to counter China’s rising influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Japan is among India’s largest investors, backing major infrastructure projects including a high-speed rail corridor between the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Japanese firms have also increased investments in Indian companies, including a recent $1.6 billion deal for a 20 percent stake in Yes Bank.
Takaichi is accompanied by a large business delegation and is due to speak at a business conference later on Thursday.
Eye on minerals
India and Japan will work more closely on critical minerals to boost “resilience” in their supply chains, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday, as the two huge Asian economies look to cut dependence on top exporter China. Both India and Japan depend on imports for many such minerals, used in everything from electric vehicles, solar panels and smartphones to jet engines and guided missiles.
They have been seeking new suppliers, including the United States and other countries, as China’s dominance may leave them vulnerable to changes in their ties with Beijing.
“We have agreed to strengthen supply chain resilience in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, quantum technologies, and critical minerals,” India’s Modi said after talks with Takaichi in New Delhi.
Japan and India are members of the Quad security alliance along with the United States and Australia, a group seen as a counterweight to China’s expanding presence in the Indian Ocean and wider Asia-Pacific region. Takaichi said both Japan and India were facing challenges such as “weaponization of the economy and non-market policies and practices”. “We need to urgently build resilience in our critical minerals supply chains,” she said in her speech.
In a sign of camaraderie between the two leaders, Modi referred to Takaichi as his “little sister” and the Japanese premier responded by calling him “elder brother”.
Japanese and Indian businesses concluded investment deals worth $12.3 billion, the two sides said.
They form part of a Japanese pledge to pour $68 billion into India over 10 years. Modi said the countries had also agreed to co-develop a naval radio antenna project aimed at boosting maritime surveillance. Earlier, Takaichi received a red-carpet welcome at the presidential palace in Delhi, where troops marched past in an honor guard parade. She will address a business forum as part of efforts to strengthen economic ties between Asia’s second- and third-largest economies.
Trade between them in 2025–26 topped $27 billion, according to official figures from India. – Agencies