Defence has emerged as important pillar in India-Japan ties: Rajnath Singh at 2+2 ministerial meeting

India is keen to become a developed country by 2047 and partnership with Japan will play an important role in the completion of this vision in areas such as defence technology and industry, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday.

He was speaking during the third round of India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting held here.

Rajnath Singh said the bilateral ties between India and Japan have gained strength in all areas.

“Bilateral relations between the two nations have increased in all areas. Defence has emerged as an important pillar in these relations. We have decided to make India a developed and transformed nation by 2047, on the completion of 100 years of India’s independence,” he said.

“Building domestic defence capabilities is a very important part of this vision. In the field of defence technology and industry, partnership with Japan will play an important role in the completion of this vision of India,” he added.

Defence Minister of Japan Minoru Kihara and the country’s Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa took part in the 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting.

Apart from Rajnath Singh, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar took part in the meeting.

Jaishankar said that cooperation between India and Japan is today set against a larger context of a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific.

“For India, this is a natural extrapolation from our Act East policy. Indeed, the proportion of our activities and interests East of India has been steadily growing,” he said.

On Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Japan’s Defence and Foreign Ministers.

PM Modi “reaffirmed” the role of India-Japan partnership in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.

“Delighted to meet Japanese Foreign Minister @Kamikawa_Yoko and Defense Minister @kihara_minoru ahead of the 3rd India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting. Took stock of the progress made in India-Japan defence and security ties. Reaffirmed the role India-Japan partnership plays in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and beyond,” the Prime Minister said in a post on X.

The earlier two rounds of India-Japan 2+2 ministerial meetings were held in 2019 in New Delhi and in 2022 in Tokyo.