The third two plus two ministerial talks between India and Japan concluded in New Delhi.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar participated in the talks from India’s side, while Defence Minister Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa participated from Japan’s side.
After the meeting, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Tuesday that the interests of both India and Japan are deeply linked to the Indo-Pacific region and their partnership is important for peace and stability in the region.
He said, “During our discussions today, we discussed bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. Being two important stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific region, India and Japan are in many ways important custodians of the region. Therefore, this partnership is important for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.”
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said that cooperation between India and Japan is set in the broader context of the Indo-Pacific region. He said that India and Japan share a “special strategic and global partnership” based on shared values of democracy, freedom and rule of law.
The defence sector has emerged as one of the most important pillars in this relationship. In the current global environment, strengthening India-Japan defence partnership is vital to ensure a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region.
He said that coordination and shared vision between the two countries has strengthened on issues of peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
India is an active member of ‘ADMM Plus’ to further cooperation between ASEAN and other countries including Japan.
He said that in the meeting both sides expressed their commitment to promote stability and security in the region and to support each other’s efforts to reach meaningful results.
The Defence Minister said that this year is important for both India and Japan, as we celebrate 10 years of establishment of our special global strategic partnership.
He also expressed happiness over the progress made in the defence sector cooperation between the two countries in the last decade. He said that the results of the meetings have exceeded expectations. This has been possible only due to the excellent coordination between the defence ministries of the two countries.
Let us tell you that earlier the second India-Japan 2 + 2 dialogue was held in Japan in September 2022. The first India-Japan 2 + 2 ministerial talks were held in New Delhi in November 2019.
What is 2+2 ministerial dialogue
India holds 2+2 ministerial dialogues with the United States, Russia, Japan, Australia and Brazil. Currently, India has only secretary-level dialogue with Brazil; the rest of the countries have ministerial-level talks.
The United States was the first country with which India initiated 2+2 dialogue. The first India-US 2+2 dialogue was held in New Delhi in September 2018. This dialogue has been held five times so far. The 5th India-United States 2+2 dialogue was held in New Delhi in November 2023.
The first 2+2 ministerial dialogue between Russia and India was held on 6 December 2021 in New Delhi, while the first India-Australia 2+2 dialogue was held on 11 September 2021 in New Delhi.
The second dialogue was held in New Delhi on 20 November 2023 and the third dialogue will be held in 2025. The first 2+2 dialogue with Brazil was held in New Delhi in March 2024.
However, it was headed by secretaries of the relevant departments rather than ministers.
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