India, Japan Deepen Strategic Partnership with New MoUs and Initiatives

India and Japan on Friday deepened their Special Strategic and Global Partnership, signing multiple Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and launching several new initiatives spanning human resource exchange, environment, digital technologies, space, and cultural cooperation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba witnessed the exchange of documents during the 15th Annual Summit between the two nations. According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the agreements “mark a comprehensive framework for the next decade of bilateral cooperation.”

Among the MoUs signed are the Joint Crediting Mechanism to promote decarbonization technologies, India-Japan Digital Partnership 2.0 for collaboration in digital public infrastructure, and a framework for decentralized domestic wastewater management. Additionally, an MoU was signed between India’s Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service and Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, alongside agreements on mineral resources, cultural exchange, and environmental cooperation.

Other key outcomes include a private investment target of JPY 10 trillion from Japan to India over the next decade, the launch of the Economic Security Initiative to strengthen supply chain resilience, and the India-Japan AI Initiative. High-level exchanges between states and prefectures were also announced, with business forums planned between India and Japan’s Kansai and Kyushu regions to boost trade, people-to-people ties, and cultural linkages.

This visit marks PM Modi’s first to Japan since May 2023. He was accorded a ceremonial Guard of Honour in Tokyo. India and Japan had elevated their relationship to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership a decade ago, and the new agreements further consolidate that bond.

Later, PM Modi will travel to Tianjin, China, to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit later this week.

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