Foreign Affairs Correspondent
New Delhi: Invoking Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent message at the G7 Summit, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on Thursday described India-Japan relations as a partnership built on “exceptional trust”, saying that trust has emerged as the defining strength of bilateral ties amid a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.
Addressing a special media briefing after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s maiden visit to India, Misri recalled Modi’s remarks to G7 leaders that “trust is the new currency of global partnerships”, saying the sentiment was reflected throughout the summit-level engagements.
“I think both leaders recognize that this is a relationship of exceptional trust. Some of you might recall that Prime Minister Modi had said, while addressing the G7 leaders just recently, that trust is the new currency of global partnerships. And that currency of trust, I would say, was visible in abundance in the engagements today. It is that that allows the two sides to work with each other with a great deal of comfort,” Misri said. Foreign Secretary Misri was joined by India’s Ambassador to Japan Nagma Mallick.
The Foreign Secretary said the two Prime Ministers built on a relationship anchored in shared strategic interests across economic security, supply chain resilience, defence, technology, innovation and people-to-people exchanges.
At the heart of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s maiden visit to India was a message that Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri made explicit: economic security is now inseparable from national security.
Against the backdrop of increasingly fragile global supply chains and mounting concerns over dependence on a handful of countries for rare earths and critical technologies, India and Japan agreed to jointly build resilient supply chains, deepen cooperation on critical minerals and expand technology partnerships.
“Economic security interests are increasingly more and more intertwined with overall national security interests,” Misri said.
The statement marks perhaps the strongest public articulation yet of India’s emerging geo-economic strategy.
China shadow looms over critical minerals
Without naming China, Misri left little doubt about what was driving the new partnership.
He said both leaders agreed that recent years had demonstrated the dangers of relying on “a single or even very few sources” for critical minerals and rare earths—materials that power everything from smartphones and electric vehicles to advanced defence systems.
“We had to move away from this dependence on a single or even very few sources and there was a need to develop both strategic autonomy as well as strategic resilience,” he said.
India revealed that Japanese companies are already exploring setting up rare earth permanent magnet facilities in India, while both governments will facilitate broader private-sector collaboration in critical mineral exploration and processing.
AI, semiconductors and batteries become strategic priorities
India and Japan signed a joint AI statement covering the entire artificial intelligence ecosystem—from computing infrastructure to public-good applications.
Among the headline announcements:
- BharatGen at IIT Bombay will collaborate with Japan’s National Institute of Informatics on multilingual scientific large language models.
- Sarvam AI and Japan’s Preferred Networks will work together across foundational AI models.
- Agreements were signed covering batteries, pharmaceuticals, APIs and critical minerals.
Misri called AI a “major sunrise sector” in bilateral cooperation.
Energy partnership gets a rural push
Perhaps the most unexpected announcement was the launch of a Japan-India Cooperative Biogas for Growth Initiative, under which Japan will help establish 1,000 biogas plants across India using the country’s dairy cooperative network.
The initiative aims to produce bio-CNG and organic fertiliser while strengthening India’s energy resilience and boosting rural incomes.
The two countries also agreed to cooperate on strategic petroleum reserves and explore joint investments in maritime energy transport.
Defence ties widen beyond exercises
India also pushed for a dramatic expansion in defence industrial cooperation.
Misri said Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed collaboration “from designing to production and manufacturing.”
While reports about Japanese Mogami-class frigates have attracted attention in recent weeks, Misri clarified that the specific platform did not figure in Friday’s discussions.
Instead, both sides discussed cooperation across naval, land, air and unmanned systems while welcoming Japan’s increasingly open approach to defence exports.
Quad still central despite global uncertainty
Questions over the future of the Quad, amid changing US priorities, were firmly brushed aside.
Misri said both leaders reaffirmed the importance of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, linked Japan’s updated FOIP vision with India’s MAHASAGAR doctrine, and confirmed that Japan will host the next Quad Indo-Pacific Logistics Network tabletop exercise.
“Stay tuned,” he told reporters when asked about future Quad engagements.
Trade pact set for biggest overhaul in years
In what could become one of the visit’s most consequential outcomes, Japan agreed to begin discussions on upgrading the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
Misri acknowledged that bilateral trade—currently around $25-27 billion—falls far short of the potential between Asia’s two largest democracies.
Prime Minister Takaichi, he said, agreed that officials should begin work on a significant review of the agreement.
Investment momentum gathers pace
The strategic announcements come alongside a major surge in business engagement.
According to the government:
More than 120 business-to-business MoUs have been signed since the last summit.
They represent nearly $10 billion in investment commitments.
Major deals span finance, semiconductor materials, green ammonia and advanced manufacturing.
Prime Minister Modi also announced that the PMO will organise a dedicated Japan Week to resolve issues faced by Japanese companies operating in India—an unusual intervention aimed directly at improving investor confidence.
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