The India-Japan annual summit, led by Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, concluded on Thursday, with the two sides announcing 16 outcomes. The two countries resolved to deepen their partnership, with trust as its bedrock, address the challenge of energy security, and strengthen defence and technological cooperation.
The three joint statements, including one each on energy security and artificial intelligence (AI), conveyed that India and Japan are committed to building more resilient supply chains to reduce dependence on China for critical minerals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, and on West Asia for their energy needs.
India will receive Japanese assistance to build its strategic oil reserves and establish 1,000 biogas and organic fertiliser plants across the country. The two sides will also work towards democratising AI, especially in the Indo-Pacific region, and facilitate greater mobility of skilled Indians to Japan, including 500 highly skilled AI professionals by 2030.
The two PMs also reviewed progress on Japan’s commitment, made at the last India-Japan annual summit in Tokyo in August, to invest 10 trillion yen in India’s private sector over 10 years. The Japanese side detailed investments made by its private sector over the past year. The two sides agreed to expedite the review of their bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, signed 15 years ago, to boost trade. They also discussed local currency transactions.
Takaichi, on her first official visit to India, received a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the morning. The two leaders later held restricted and delegation-level talks. In her remarks at the joint media briefing, the Japanese PM said, “Our nations are both facing challenges, including the weaponisation of the economy and non-market practices, and building resilient supply chains for critical materials is of utmost importance.”
During the briefing, Modi said nearly 120 business agreements had been reached over the past year, paving the way for more than $10 billion in Japanese investment in India. He underscored the high level of trust in India-Japan ties. He recalled his intervention at the Group of Seven (G7) summit in France last month. At the summit’s outreach session, with US President Donald Trump seated beside him, Modi had said that “mutual trust” has become “the most important strategic asset today”, but that, “sadly”, the world is facing a “shortage of trust”, and “the future of our partnerships depends on re-building this trust”.
“Just a few days ago, at the G7 summit, I had said that in today’s atmosphere of global upheaval, mutual trust is our greatest strategic asset. And I take pride in the fact that the India-Japan partnership fully measures up to this test,” Modi said.
Modi began his address at the media briefing by referring to Takaichi as “meri chhoti behen”, or my younger sister, and hailed her as a “visionary and popular leader”. “The small meeting before and the big meeting… we confirmed that we are on the same page to develop this relationship as brother and sister,” Takaichi said. Modi is 76 years old, and Takaichi turned 65 in March this year.
During their discussions, Modi welcomed Japan’s review of the Three Principles on the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology and said he hoped it would further deepen the defence partnership between the two countries. The two sides agreed to expedite the Unified Complex Radio Antenna project.
The two PMs stressed the strategic salience of the India-Japan partnership in an increasingly volatile and uncertain geopolitical environment and agreed to advance bilateral cooperation in three priority areas: economic security, energy resilience and technology. They observed the convergence of Japan’s updated Free and Open Indo-Pacific policy and India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.
The two sides also finalised a mobility framework to facilitate cooperation in shipbuilding, aviation, and logistics. Modi said India and Japan have prepared a joint road map on economic security, through which the two countries will strengthen supply chain resilience in strategic sectors such as semiconductors, quantum technology, and advanced materials. Modi and Takaichi also discussed the situation in the Indo-Pacific, a region that has witnessed growing Chinese military muscle-flexing.
Modi said that under the India-Japan Biogas Initiative, “we will receive assistance in setting up 1,000 biogas and organic fertiliser plants in India”. He said the initiative would give new impetus to sustainability, prosperity, and rural livelihoods. “We have also taken a significant initiative regarding energy resilience to tackle situations like oil shocks.”
“Our cooperation in batteries, green hydrogen, and nuclear energy will make a vital contribution to the world’s clean energy future,” he said. Modi added that the economies of India and Japan are complementary.
Modi said the two sides had inked an agreement on their first co-development project in the defence sector. “This project for a naval radio antenna will open a new chapter in our defence technology partnership. We will now jointly develop defence technologies that will strengthen regional peace, maritime security, and the rules-based order,” he said.
Takaichi was accompanied by a high-level delegation comprising senior officials, chief executive officers, and industry leaders. The two sides reiterated the importance of ensuring unimpeded freedom of navigation and the uninterrupted flow of global commerce, including through the Strait of Hormuz. They reaffirmed their commitment to promoting the landmark clean ammonia project in Odisha with continued support from both governments. They welcomed recent progress on metro projects in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Takaichi said Japan fully understands India’s target of commencing commercial operations on priority sections in 2027 and remains committed to extending the necessary cooperation.
The two sides also acknowledged the goal of introducing E10. They expressed their willingness to explore ways to cooperate on future high-speed corridors to achieve India’s vision of a 7,000 kilometre national high-speed rail network. They welcomed the signing of the Next-Generation Mobility Partnership in the shipbuilding sector, including collaboration in human resource development. They also reaffirmed their shared commitment to developing industrial value chains connecting India’s Northeast with the Bay of Bengal region.
The two governments will celebrate the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027 by organising brainstorming sessions involving experts across sectors and promoting regional linkages.