India-Japan Economic Security Partnership in Focus as Japanese House delegation meets Foreign Secretary Misri

Correspondent

New Delhi, September 21: With global economic and geopolitical shifts accelerating, India and Japan have underlined the need to move faster on a deeper economic security partnership, with particular focus on de-risking supply chains, manufacturing, technology and innovation.

The issue figured prominently as a delegation of Japanese parliamentarians from the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Taro Kono, Director General of the LDP’s International Bureau, met Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on September 21. Kono, who has previously served as Japan’s Defence Minister, Foreign Minister and Digital Minister, is visiting India as part of the India-Japan Distinguished Visitors Programme from September 18-22.

The two sides discussed ways to sustain the positive momentum in bilateral ties across defence, economic security, supply-chain resilience, trade and investment, technology, innovation and people-to-people linkages, Ministry of External Affairs stated in a release on Monday.

The Japanese delegation took note of the rapid growth of India’s deep-tech entrepreneurship, research and innovation ecosystem, as well as the scale and pace of the country’s economic development. It also highlighted India’s growing manufacturing capabilities and the opportunities these are creating for both India and its partner countries.

From a broader economic-security perspective, the discussions assessed the need for greater India-Japan cooperation to strengthen resilient supply chains and reduce vulnerabilities amid the changing global economic environment.

Both sides also emphasised the importance of India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership as an anchor for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, built on political trust, mutual goodwill and a common strategic outlook, the MEA statement reads further.

They stressed the need to move quickly to expand and deepen bilateral engagement, guided by the directions set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi at the 16th Annual Summit.

The Japanese house delegation also includes Kenji Nakanishi, Deputy Chairperson of the LDP Policy Research Council, Karen Makishima, Acting Director of the LDP International Bureau and Deputy Chair of the Committee for the Promotion of a Digital Society; and Sakon Yamamoto.