Indian envoy meets Japanese Defence Minister, discusses Indo-Pacific cooperation

Tokyo, July 4 (IANS) India's Ambassador to Japan, Sibi George on Friday called on Japanese Defence Minister General Nakatani, discussing initiatives to enhance India-Japan defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

"On July 4, Defence Minister Nakatani received a courtesy visit from the Indian Ambassador to Japan. The two exchanged views on advancing Japan-India Defence Cooperation (JIDIP) in the Indo-Pacific region. We will continue to work closely with India," Japan's Ministry of Defence posted on X.

India-Japan defence and security partnership forms an integral pillar of bilateral ties. India-Japan defense exchanges have gained strength in the recent years due to growing convergence on strategic matters, and their significance is growing in the common outlook on issues of peace, security, and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

In May, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held bilateral talks with his Japanese counterpart Nakatani in New Delhi, with both leaders reaffirming their commitment to deepening defence ties and countering regional security threats, including terrorism.

"Minister Nakatani stated the growing importance and necessity of enhancing cooperation and collaboration in defence between of Japan and India, which share the ideal of realising peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific based on rule of law, under the recent regional and international situation surrounding both countries is becoming more complex and uncertain rapidly," read a statement issued by the Japanese Ministry of Defence following the meeting.

"Considering this situation, the ministers concurred on the importance to create a large synergy in the Indo-Pacific region by enhancing the collaboration among initiatives led by each country from the defence side," the statement added.

Minister Nakatani suggested proceeding with the collaboration as 'Japan India (India-Japan) Defence cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region (JIDIP/ IJDIP)' between both defence authorities and materialise the specific cooperation and collaboration under it. As a response, the Indian Defence Minister welcomed the suggestion and stated that he would hold further discussions on the matter to take it forward.

The ministers agreed to work closely together to ensure the peace, stability, and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region.

The meeting came days after the April 22 brutal terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's (J&K) Pahalgam, which claimed 26 innocent lives.

General Nakatani also expressed solidarity with India over the Pahalgam attack and asserted that Japan is firmly committed to combating terrorism in cooperation with India and the international community.

India and Japan share a long-term friendship, which has further gained qualitative momentum after the elevation of this collaboration to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014. The dialogue between the two ministers ended with a strong commitment by both sides to enhance the bilateral defence cooperation.

--IANS

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