India and Japan on Thursday unveiled one of the most ambitious roadmaps in their bilateral relationship, expanding cooperation across defence, economic security, advanced technology, resilient supply chains and the Indo Pacific, while delivering a strong joint message against terrorism and coercive actions that threaten regional stability.
The outcomes emerged from the 16th India Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi held wide ranging talks before adopting a comprehensive joint statement titled Advancing a Partnership of Strategic Convergence and Trust for Shared Growth, Prosperity and Resilience.
The summit marked Takaichi's first official visit to India after assuming office and came at a time of growing geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain disruptions and heightened security challenges across the Indo Pacific.
Positioning themselves as natural and indispensable partners, the two leaders agreed to deepen cooperation across three broad pillars comprising defence and security, economic partnership with a focus on technology and energy resilience, and stronger people to people ties.
The strategic direction of the summit reflected the increasing convergence between New Delhi and Tokyo as both countries seek to strengthen a rules based regional order while reducing vulnerabilities in critical technologies and global supply chains.
A major takeaway was the decision to significantly expand defence and security cooperation. India and Japan agreed to hold the fourth round of their 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue in Tokyo later this year while stepping up military exercises, maritime domain awareness, naval maintenance cooperation and defence industrial collaboration.
The two leaders also welcomed progress in the Unified Complex Radio Antenna project and agreed to pursue additional defence equipment and technology collaborations under India's Make in India programme.
Prime Minister Modi welcomed Japan's review of its defence equipment transfer principles, expressing hope that it would open new opportunities for industrial cooperation and technology partnerships.
Economic security emerged as another defining feature of the summit.
Recognising that geopolitical tensions are increasingly affecting trade, technology and industrial production, both countries pledged to work together to build resilient and diversified supply chains while reducing dependence on any single country for critical resources.
The two sides expressed concern over economic coercion, arbitrary export restrictions and market distortions affecting critical minerals and strategic industries.
To address these challenges, India and Japan adopted a Joint Declaration on Economic Security Cooperation that will drive project based collaboration in semiconductors, critical minerals, information and communication technology, clean energy and pharmaceuticals.
The leaders also agreed to ease export control challenges involving high technology trade while strengthening mechanisms to safeguard sensitive technologies.
Artificial intelligence figured prominently in the discussions as both countries sought to position themselves as trusted technology partners.
The two governments launched their inaugural AI Strategic Dialogue and adopted a separate Joint Statement on AI cooperation. The partnership will focus on building trusted digital infrastructure, strengthening AI capabilities and promoting innovation while ensuring secure and resilient AI supply chains.
On the economic front, both leaders welcomed steady growth in Japanese investment into India and reviewed progress towards the target of 10 trillion yen in investment announced during the previous summit.
They agreed to accelerate the review of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement to make it more relevant for emerging sectors and improve bilateral trade.
Both governments also committed themselves to expanding cooperation in logistics, textiles, agriculture, food processing, automobiles, industrial machinery, healthcare and financial services.
The summit also placed strong emphasis on manufacturing partnerships.
India invited greater participation by Japanese companies in its expanding industrial ecosystem, particularly among micro, small and medium enterprises, startups and suppliers located in Tier Two and Tier Three cities.
Both countries also inaugurated the India Japan SME Forum to strengthen industrial collaboration and technology partnerships.
Infrastructure cooperation continued to remain a flagship element of bilateral ties.
The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the Mumbai Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project, with Japan pledging continued support for India's target of commencing commercial operations on priority sections in 2027.
The two countries also agreed to explore cooperation on future high speed rail corridors as India pursues its vision of developing a national high speed rail network.
Beyond railways, they welcomed progress in metro rail projects in Mumbai and Bengaluru as well as development projects in healthcare, education and agriculture supported by Japanese assistance.
Energy security also received significant attention.
The two countries adopted a separate Joint Statement on Energy Resilience covering strategic petroleum reserves, resilient supply chains, maritime energy transport and cooperation in global energy markets.
Japan also reaffirmed its support for India's membership of the International Energy Agency.
Clean energy cooperation was expanded through a new India Japan Cooperative Biogas for Growth Initiative alongside continued collaboration in green hydrogen, clean ammonia, solar technologies and nuclear energy.
The strategic messaging extended well beyond bilateral issues.
Reaffirming their shared commitment to a free, open and rules based Indo Pacific, both leaders aligned Japan's updated Free and Open Indo Pacific vision with India's Indo Pacific Oceans Initiative and MAHASAGAR framework.
They pledged closer cooperation under the Quad while strengthening engagement with ASEAN and regional partners.
The two leaders expressed serious concern over developments in the East China Sea and South China Sea, opposing unilateral attempts to alter the status quo through force or coercion and reiterating the importance of freedom of navigation under international law.
On global security, India and Japan strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms.
The joint statement explicitly condemned cross border terrorism from Pakistan and referred to the April 2025 terrorist attack in Pahalgam as well as the November 2025 terror incident in Delhi.
The two countries called for swift action against the perpetrators, financiers and organisers of terrorist attacks and urged stronger international action against groups including Lashkar e Tayyiba, Jaish e Mohammad, Al Qaeda and ISIS along with their proxies.
The leaders also reiterated support for reform of the United Nations Security Council, renewing their backing for each other's candidature for permanent membership in an expanded Council.
The summit also reinforced growing cooperation in science, quantum technologies, space research and education, including continued work on the joint Lunar Polar Exploration mission and expanding academic exchanges.
As India and Japan prepare to celebrate 75 years of diplomatic relations through the India Japan Year of Shared Horizons, Thursday's summit reflected the transformation of a relationship that has steadily evolved from development cooperation into one of Asia's most consequential strategic partnerships.
With growing alignment on security, technology, resilient supply chains and regional stability, New Delhi and Tokyo signalled that their partnership will play an increasingly important role in shaping the economic and strategic future of the Indo Pacific.
