Today’s Modi-Takaichi Summit Talks: India, Japan to Deepen Ties in Trade, Defense and Technology | Today’s news
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold annual summit-level talks with his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi in New Delhi today, July 2.
The India-Japan summit will provide an opportunity for both sides to review strengthening bilateral cooperation across trade, investment, defense and other key sectors.
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The two leaders are also expected to exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual concern during the summit to be held at Hyderabad House. Several MoUs are expected to be exchanged after the meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Takaichi.
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
Key topics of discussion include trade, investment, defense, cooperation in artificial intelligence and semiconductors, and energy resilience.
The summit is significant as it aims to strengthen the special strategic and global partnership between India and Japan amid growing global uncertainty.
The proposed framework will enable direct transactions in rupees and yen, reducing dependence on the US dollar and facilitating cross-border payments.
Among the expected agreements are agreements on energy resilience, artificial intelligence, critical minerals and cooperation in various technological sectors.
Yes, businesses should be interested as the summit is likely to pave the way for increased Japanese investment in India and potential new business opportunities.
Takaichi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday for a three-day visit to India. This is Takaichi’s first official visit to India. He is visiting at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi from July 1 to 3 for the 16th annual India-Japan summit, the MEA said earlier.
Takaichi was earlier scheduled to visit Guwahati where a high-level meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi was planned. The plans were canceled just days before the visit was due to begin.
Takaichi’s engagement today
In a special gesture for a prime minister, not a state, Prime Minister Takaichi will be welcomed to the courtyard Rashtrapati Bhavan today, according to a report in Hindus. The two sides are likely to sign at least ten memorandums of understanding to be announced after talks between the two leaders on Hyderabad House.
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In addition to the Memorandum of Understanding on Energy Resilience, Agreements on Biogas, Oil and Gas, Exploration for Critical Minerals, Batteries, artificial intelligenceand there are also medicines on the table.
Takaichi will also address a business meeting where more than 100 Japanese businessmen are expected, and several memorandums of understanding will be signed. Discussions are also expected on the Green Ammonia project in Odisha, which came up with Japanese help Hindus message. The Japanese Prime Minister will also participate in a discussion on being part of India’s mobility-focused approach with key economic partners.
What did the MEA say?
The MEA had earlier said that the purpose of the visit is to strengthen ties with India, which is “of the utmost importance for the realization of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific’.”
It said the two leaders would discuss “further strengthening of complementary cooperation” under the “Japan-India Joint Vision for the Next Decade” announced during Modi’s visit to Japan in August last year.
Today’s discussions will cover “areas of economic security, including energy, as well as economic growth through investment and innovation,” the ministry said.
Takaichi’s visit follows Modi’s trip to Tokyo in August 2025, during which the two countries presented a joint vision for Japan and India for the next decade, and Japan announced a target to invest ¥10 trillion in India over the coming decade.
“We are delighted to welcome you on your first visit to India and look forward to our wide-ranging discussions tomorrow, which will further deepen the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership. Through our joint efforts, we will continue to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” PM Modi said while welcoming the Japanese leader on Wednesday X.
India and Japan share a special strategic and global partnership whose cooperation spans trade and investment, infrastructure, defense and security, clean energy and new technologies.
Takaichi’s visit to India comes amid growing uncertainty in the global arena, making cooperation with India even more urgent.
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At an informal press conference on her visit to India on Wednesday, she said she intends to move forward with concrete cooperation with the prime minister. Narendra Modi. He is due to land in India later in the evening and meet Prime Minister Modi on Thursday.
“I will visit India shortly. Amid growing uncertainty in the international situation, the importance of cooperation with India, which shares core values and strategic interests, only increases,” she said.
“Local Currency Settlement Framework”
Expected output documents of the visit include a joint statement on the annual summit, energy resilience and a memorandum of understanding covering sectors such as artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, batteries and critical minerals.
India and Japan are set to press ahead with plans for a local currency settlement framework that would allow direct yen-rupee transactions for bilateral trade, according to a Nikkei Asia report.
The proposal is expected to be included in a joint statement after Modi and Takaichi meet at the 16th annual India-Japan summit, the report said.
I will visit India soon. Amid growing uncertainty in the international situation, the importance of cooperation with India, which shares core values and strategic interests, only grows.
Under the proposed framework, non-Indian Japanese entities would be allowed to open accounts with Indian banks. This would allow financial institutions in both countries to settle cross-border payments directly in yen and rupees, without routing transactions through the US dollar, the Nikkei reported.
