India and Japan on Friday agreed to step up cooperation on critical minerals and economic security, launching a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) dialogue as the two sides reviewed their “special strategic and global partnership” during Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi’s ongoing visit to New Delhi.
The discussions took place at the 18th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue, held after Motegi called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier in the day and held talks with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Briefing the media, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the two ministers undertook a comprehensive review of the bilateral relationship, covering supply chain resilience in critical sectors, investment, trade, technology, innovation, defence cooperation, people-to-people exchanges and cultural ties.
A key outcome of the talks was the launch of the India-Japan AI Dialogue, an initiative announced earlier by PM Modi and his Japanese counterpart to provide a coherent push to bilateral cooperation in artificial intelligence. Jaiswal said the dialogue would strengthen collaboration in emerging technologies with a focus on economic security.
Both sides also decided to convene the Joint Working Group on Critical Minerals under the Economic Security Initiative to advance cooperation in rare earths and other critical minerals, an area of growing strategic importance amid global supply chain vulnerabilities.
“The importance of further strengthening the India-Japan special strategic and global partnership was underlined in keeping with the outcomes of the 15th annual summit held in Japan last year,” Jaiswal said.
The two countries also looked ahead to 2027, when India and Japan will mark 75 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, with plans to expand engagement across sectors.
Describing the visit as “very good and substantive”, the MEA said the Japanese Foreign Minister’s engagements were continuing and further details would be shared as the visit progresses.
Earlier, during the bilateral talks, Jaishankar underlined that economic security had become “particularly paramount”, stressing the shared priority of “de-risking” national and global economies.
He said resilient supply chains, critical minerals, energy security and maritime security were central to India-Japan engagement amid an uncertain global environment.
The External Affairs Minister also said India attached the “highest priority” to its partnership with Japan, noting that the relationship had evolved over the past two decades from a largely economic engagement into a broad, comprehensive and strategic one, with close coordination in forums such as the Quad, the UN, the G20 and the G4.