India, Japan delve on security and defence cooperation

New Delhi, March 19: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on Saturday discussed about security and defence cooperation between both the countries and reaffirmed their desire to further deepen it.

"They welcomed the holding of the first 2 2 meeting of their Foreign and Defence Ministers in November 2019 in New Delhi and instructed their Ministers to hold the second meeting at the earliest opportunity in Tokyo," said a joint statement.

They also welcomed the operationalisation of the Agreement Concerning Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between the Japan Self-Defence Forces and the Indian Armed Forces.

They expressed their commitment to continuing bilateral and multilateral exercises including "Dharma Guardian" and "Malabar" respectively, while welcoming the participation of Japan for the first time in exercise MILAN, as well as making efforts to increase their complexity in the future.

They reaffirmed the decision to proceed with coordination for the inaugural fighter exercise between the Japan Air Self-Defence Force and the Indian Air Force and welcomed the efforts to hold the exercise at the earliest.

They acknowledged ongoing collaboration in the area of Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) and Robotics and directed their Ministers to further identify concrete areas for future cooperation in the area of defence equipment and technology.

With their commitment to promoting peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the Prime Ministers affirmed the importance of bilateral and plurilateral partnerships among like-minded countries of the region, including the quadrilateral cooperation among Australia, India, Japan, and the US (the Quad).

They welcomed the Quad Leaders' Summits in March and September 2021 and renewed their commitment to delivering tangible outcomes on the Quad's positive and constructive agenda, especially on Covid vaccines, critical and emerging technologies, climate action, infrastructure coordination, cybersecurity, space and education.

They looked forward to advancing Quad cooperation through the next Quad Leaders' Summit in Japan in the coming months. Kishida arrived in New Delhi on a two-day visit to take part in the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit on Saturday.