‘In global turbulence, mutual trust is our greatest strategic asset’: PM Modi on India-Japan partnership – 7 best quotes | Today’s news
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Thursday that mutual trust between nations is the greatest strategic asset in times of geopolitical uncertainty. PM Modi was speaking during a joint press statement along with his Japanese counterpart Sanae Takaichi in New Delhi.
“A few days ago at the G7 summit, I remarked that in today’s climate of global turbulence, mutual trust is our greatest strategic asset; I am proud that the India-Japan partnership fully lives up to that standard,” PM Modi said.
Takaichi’s three-day visit to India comes amid growing uncertainty in the global arena. Under these circumstances, cooperation with India becomes even more relevant.
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The summit focused on expanding economic ties, strengthening resilient supply chains for semiconductors and enhancing cooperation in critical technology and defense between India and Japan.
The partnership is crucial amid growing geopolitical uncertainty and allows the two nations to work together on shared values and strategic interests, particularly in defense and technology.
The framework will enable direct yen-rupee transactions for bilateral trade without routing through the US dollar, facilitating financial transactions between the two countries.
Agreements were expected in sectors such as economic security, artificial intelligence, energy resilience and various MoUs related to trade and cooperation.
PM Modi emphasized that mutual trust is a strategic advantage in times of global turbulence, essential to foster a strong partnership that has developed over decades.
Read also | Modi-Takaichi summit proceedings today: What’s on the agenda?
PM Modi also said that over the past few decades, spanning sectors from automotive to electronics, Japan has played a key role in India’s growth story and built an invaluable bond of friendship and trust. “Today, with Prime Minister Takaichi’s visit, we embark on a new chapter in our special strategic and global partnership,” he said.
What did Modi and Takaichi discuss?
Earlier, PM Modi held a summit with Takaichi in New Delhi. The talks focused on expanding economic ties, strengthening resilient supply chains for semiconductors and enhancing cooperation in critical technologies between the two nations.
Read also | India-Japan Summit Explained: What Modi-Takaichi Talks Mean Right Now
The two leaders held wide-ranging talks on the entire spectrum of India-Japan ties, including trade and investment, economic security, energy, new technology, defense and people-to-people exchanges, the Ministry of External Affairs said. They also exchanged views on regional and global developments of common interest, it said.
“The talks brought concrete progress on key priorities of our bilateral relations. The two sides adopted three major documents – 1) Joint Declaration on Economic Security, 2) Joint Declaration on Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence and 3) Joint Declaration on Energy Resilience,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
“The two leaders witnessed the exchange of key memorandums of understanding and agreements on economic security, clean energy, critical technologies and research and development,” he said.
PM Modi said that both the leaders believe that technology partnership will become the strongest pillar of our cooperation.
“To realize this vision, we have also issued a joint statement on AI today. Several key institutions within the Indian AI ecosystem have also signed agreements with their Japanese partners today. The convergence of Japan’s precision technologies and India’s software capabilities will give new impetus and strength to global AI development,” he said.
The Indian delegation included External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri among others during the talks.
The negotiations marked another step towards further strengthening the special partnership built on trust. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval were also present along with other officials.
Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi was earlier accorded a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He is on a three-day visit to India.
There was a revival of Indo-Japanese ties. The relationship was upgraded to a special strategic and global partnership in 2014.
Read also | Modi-Takaichi summit proceedings today: What’s on the agenda?
As the two countries approach the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2027, cooperation continues to deepen in a wide range of sectors, including trade and investment, economic security, defense and security, science and technology, culture and people-to-people relations. The bilateral framework now includes more than 70 dialogue mechanisms.
PM Modi visited Japan for the 15th annual summit in Tokyo in August last year.
The annual summit remains the flagship that drives the partnership’s strategic agenda.
The Japanese leader is in India to attend the 16th annual India-Japan Summit, which is expected to review the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation and discuss regional and global issues of common concern.
Here are the best quotes from PM Modi’s remarks during the joint press statements:
1- A few days ago in G7 SummitI noted that in today’s climate of global turbulence, mutual trust is our greatest strategic asset; I am proud that the India-Japan partnership fully lives up to this standard.
2- Over the past few decades, spanning sectors from automotive to electronics, Japan has played a key role in India’s growth story and built an invaluable bond of friendship and trust. Today with Prime Minister Takaichi’s visitwe are starting a new chapter in our special strategic and global partnership.
3 – Prime Minister Takaichi and I believe that technological partnership will become the strongest pillar of our cooperation. Today we also issued a joint statement on AI to realize this vision. Several key institutions in the Indian AI ecosystem also signed agreements with their Japanese partners today. The convergence of Japan’s precision technologies and India’s software capabilities will give new impetus and power to global AI development.”
4- In the defense sector, today we signed an agreement on the first joint development project between India and Japan. This project – involving the ‘Unicorn’ marine radio antenna – will open a new chapter in our defense technology partnership. We will now jointly develop defense technologies that will strengthen regional peace, maritime security and the rules-based order. Through the agreements signed today in the field of medicines, medical devices and biotechnology, we will also contribute to global health security.
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5- By combining Indian scale with Japanese quality, we will work to provide affordable, reliable and advanced healthcare solutions to the world.
6 – Both India and Japan are among the world’s largest economies today. Free, prosperous and rule-based Indo-Pacific is our common priority.
Just a few days ago, I remarked at the G7 summit that in today’s climate of global turbulence, mutual trust is our greatest strategic asset; I am proud that the India-Japan partnership fully lives up to this standard.
7-As the largest democratic and market economy in the region, we have undertaken several important initiatives today. Together, it will pave the way for peace, stability and progress throughout the region…”