NEW DELHI: Strengthening of defence and strategic ties are on the cards, ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to India, say officials.
The meeting between PM Modi and the Japanese PM on Monday comes at a significant time when the two countries have the Presidencies of the G20 and G7 respectively.
Kishida is expected to map out the contours of the “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Plan for Peace” at the Sapru House Lecture organised by the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA).
Defence and security cooperation has emerged as one of the important pillars of the Special Strategic and Global Partnership and an important factor in ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. The successful conduct of the first fighter jet exercise “Veer Guardian” in January 2023 in Japan between our two countries was a significant milestone. This was followed by the 4th Dharma Guardian army exercise that was conducted for the first time in Japan.
Maritime security cooperation including Navy-to-Navy cooperation has seen significant progress with a large number of exercises being conducted. In November last year, India took part in the International Fleet Review in Japan and the Malabar exercise off the Coast of Japan. This was preceded by the Japan-India Maritime Exercise (JIMEX) between the navies of India and Japan in September.
“We are making steady progress under the Defence Equipment and Technology Agreement signed in 2015,’’ said officials.
The two Prime Ministers, Modi and Kishida, met thrice last year. Kishida visited India for the 14th Annual Summit in March, while PM Modi visited Tokyo in May for the Quad Summit and in September for the state funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
“This visit, therefore, gives us an opportunity to cooperate and discuss on how G20 and G7 can work together on converging our priorities on critical global issues including food and health security, energy transitions and economic security,’’ said sources.
India and Japan have had a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) since 2011. The Agreement covers not only trade in goods but also services, movement of natural persons (MNP), investments, intellectual property rights, customs procedures and other trade-related issues.
The bilateral trade between the two nations stood at $20.75 billion in 2022 which is the highest till now. Japan is India’s 5th largest investor and a large number of Japanese companies are exploring opportunities in India in several sectors. At present, there are around 1450 Japanese companies that are operating in India and until now 26 Japanese companies have benefited from Production Linked Incentive Schemes.
Meanwhile, Japan is the largest bilateral donor to India and has been extending bilateral loans and grant assistance to India since 1958. Their loans have accelerated economic development, particularly in priority areas like power, transportation, and environmental projects in India.