Japanese, Indian leaders agree to boost security, economic ties

At their summit held at the Japanese prime minister's office in Tokyo, the two leaders affirmed that their countries will beef up cooperation in the field of security, keeping China's hegemonic behaviour in the Indo-Pacific region in mind.

They agreed to expand bilateral economic collaboration amid increasing global uncertainties blamed on the high tariff policy of the administration of US President Donald Trump.

Ishiba and Modi revised a Japan-India joint declaration on security cooperation for the first time in 17 years. The revised declaration calls on the two nations to work together for the joint development of defence equipment and promote joint research in advanced technologies such as cybersecurity.

The two leaders also issued a joint statement, which featured the establishment of the Japan-India Economic Security Initiative for stable procurement of minerals, semiconductors and other goods that are important in light of economic security.

Japan hopes to capitalise on the vitality of India, whose population continues to increase, while India is eager to attract more investment from Japan. In this context, Ishiba and Modi agreed that Japan will aim to make 10 trillion yen in private investment in India over the next 10 years.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]