• India and Japan held their third bilateral Space Dialogue in Tokyo on April 1, marking another step forward in their growing space cooperation. 

• The dialogue brought together ministries and agencies pertaining to outer space and allowed for exchange of views on their respective space policies and priorities. 

• The dialogue builds on previous successful collaborations between India and Japan in space technology, including joint satellite projects and lunar exploration initiatives.

• With Japan’s advanced space capabilities and India's cost-effective space technologies, the partnership holds significant potential. 

• Discussions were held on national space programmes, bilateral space cooperation, space situational awareness, space security, Quad space cooperation, industry level cooperation and commercial space collaboration.

• Both sides examined opportunities for enhanced bilateral cooperation in space technology and potential joint missions. 

• Of particular significance were talks about space cooperation within the Quad framework (India, Japan, US and Australia), as well as commercial space collaboration between private companies of both nations. 

• These discussions come at a time when space is becoming increasingly important for both economic and security considerations.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)