Japan, India Hold Talks on Economic Security Cooperation
Around 50 government officials, researchers and others from Japan and India held a meeting in New Delhi on Thursday (December 11) to discuss the promotion of economic security cooperation between the two countries.
- Japan and India discussed establishing joint supply chains for strategic materials, including semiconductors and rare earth minerals, to enhance economic security.
- The talks emphasized the need to deepen private-sector ties, in addition to government-to-government relations, to implement cooperation agreements.
- Specific collaborative projects include NEC Corp. working with the Indian government to lay undersea cables and new initiatives to support joint research between the two nations.
At the meeting on Wednesday, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think tank, participants confirmed the importance of setting up supply chains spanning the two countries for the procurement of strategic materials such as semiconductors and rare earth minerals.
Japan and India share the common challenge of diversifying their supply chains, as both have been affected by China's rare earth export restrictions and the protectionist high-tariff policy of US President Donald Trump's administration.
Japanese Ambassador to India Keiichi Ono, who participated in the meeting, emphasised that Japan and India share the same destiny and must work together.
He added that deepening private-sector ties, not just government-to-government relations, is essential to realise the agreement reached at the August Japan-India summit on bilateral cooperation in semiconductor and other fields.
Also at the meeting, a senior official of an Indian unit of Japanese electronics maker NEC Corp. said that the company is working with the Indian government to lay undersea cables that are important for economic security.
An official of the Japan Science and Technology Agency introduced initiatives to support joint research between Japan and India.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
