• Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid an official visit to Japan on August 29-30 for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit.

• PM Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba held delegation-level talks during which they recalled the longstanding friendship between India and Japan. 

• The two PMs held constructive discussion on ways to strengthen the strategic and forward-looking partnership for achieving mutual security and prosperity in the coming decades.

• They resolved to continue working closely with each other to realise shared objectives and further advance the Special Strategic and Global Partnership. 

Highlights of the discussions:

• The two PMs set a new target of 10 trillion yen (approximately Rs 60,000 crore) in private investment in India from Japan for the next decade.

They made a series of announcements focusing on three priority areas: 

i) Bolstering defence and security cooperation.

ii) Reinforcing economic partnership.

iii) Deepening people-to-people exchanges. 

• They welcomed the signing of important documents in key sectors, including clean energy, critical minerals, digital partnership, space, science and technology, cultural exchanges and diplomatic training.

The leaders adopted:

i) A Joint Vision for the Next Decade, which lays out whole-of-nation lines of efforts to steer the partnership in eight pillars such as economy, economic security, mobility, environment, technology and innovation, health, people-to-people ties and state-prefecture engagement.

ii) A Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation, which elevates our defence and security ties to the next level, taking into account the contemporary geopolitical realities and security configurations in the region.iii) An Action Plan for India-Japan Human Resource Exchange and Cooperation, which lays out a roadmap for talent mobility and deepening people-to-people ties through exchanges of more than five lakh personnel in five years, including 50,000 skilled personnel and potential talents from India to Japan.

India-Japan Economic Security Initiative

The two Prime Ministers announced India-Japan Economic Security Initiative to provide momentum for bilateral cooperation in the field of economic security including securing and strengthening supply chains in critical goods and sectors and accelerating cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, with heightened priority on telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, semiconductors and clean energy. 

Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative

The leaders announced the launch of a Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative, which is aimed at deepening bilateral and multilateral cooperation on artificial intelligence including Large Language Models (LLMs), establishing platforms for exchange between industry and academia, supporting joint research projects, and facilitating the development and operations of data centers in India.

Other key outcomes:

i) Memorandum of Cooperation on Joint Crediting Mechanism: An instrument to facilitate the diffusion of decarbonizing technologies, products, systems, and infrastructure thereby contributing to India’s greenhouse gas emission reduction goals, promote Japanese investment in India and India’s sustainable development.

ii) Memorandum of Cooperation in the Field of Mineral Resources: An instrument to advance cooperation in supply chain resilience for critical minerals including through the development of processing technologies, joint investments for exploration and mining and efforts for stockpiling critical minerals.

iii) Implementing Arrangement between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) concerning Joint Lunar Polar Exploration Mission.

iv) Joint Declaration of Intent on Clean Hydrogen and Ammonia: A document to promote research, investment and implementation of projects on hydrogen/ammonia and deepen collaboration on cutting-edge research and innovation for developing technologies.

v) Memorandum of Cooperation on Cultural Exchange: An instrument to promote cooperation in the field of art and culture through exhibitions, museum collaborations and exchange of best practices in the field of cultural preservation.

vi) MoU on Decentralised Domestic Waste Water Management: A document to promote cooperation in effective reuse of wastewater and decentralised wastewater management which is crucial for public health, environmental protection and sustainable development.

vii) Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Environment Cooperation: An enabling framework for collaboration in areas pertaining to environmental preservation such as pollution control, climate change, waste management, sustainable use of biodiversity and environmental technologies.

• The 15th Annual Summit helped take stock of the progress made in India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership since 2014 and create a framework for continued cooperation benefiting our next generation and beyond.

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