Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had a summit meeting on December 12.
Following the Joint Statement, they instructed relevant authorities to further advance cooperation in the following areas. The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to continue annual summit meetings to give strategic directions to broad and diverse bilateral agenda.
Political Dialogues
Annual Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue was held in January 2015, and the next round will take place in 2016.
Annual Defence Ministers Dialogue was held in March 2015, and the two sides shared the intention to meet again in 2016.
The ‘2+2’ meeting with the participation of the Foreign and Defence Secretaries and Vice Ministers was held in Delhi in April 2015.
The inaugural India-Japan-Australia Trilateral Dialogue at the Secretary/Vice-Minister level in Delhi was held in June 2015. The two sides look forward to the next meeting in 2016.
Security Cooperation
The Agreement concerning Security Measures for the Protection of Classified Military Information was signed in December 2015.
The Agreement between the India and Japan concerning the Transfer of Defence Equipment and Technology was signed in December 2015.
Japan participated in the India-US Malabar exercise in October 2015.
Indian Navy (IN) participated in the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) Fleet Review- 2015. IN welcomes participation of JMSDF in the India International Fleet Review 2016 scheduled to be held in India off the coast of Vishakhapatnam in February 2016.
Investment
The two sides decided to hold the bilateral dialogue between the India’s Ministry of Finance and the Japan’s Ministry of Finance to seek wider cooperation on financial issues such as financial markets, banking, insurance and financial regulations. A financial cooperation discussion between India and Japan was held on November 17, 2014.
The two sides shared the view that “Action Agenda for the India-Japan Investment and Trade Promotion and Indo-Pacific Economic Integration” signed by the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan (METI) in April 2015 in New Delhi is a positive step.
Development Assistance
The two sides congratulated each other on the signing of the Exchange of Notes on Japanese Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans for the Chennai Metro Project (IV) and the Ahmedabad Metro Project (I), amounting to more than 100 billion yen in total, which will dramatically facilitate the mobility of the citizens in both cities.
The two sides welcomed the outcome of the bilateral consultation on Japanese ODA Loan for metro and railway projects in India, and expressed their willingness in this regard to cooperate on materialising forthcoming metro and railway projects.
The two sides recognised the importance of the “Clean Ganga Initiative” that Prime Minister Modi had initiated, and shared the view towards the rejuvenation of the Ganga River. The two sides welcomed the commencement of the preparatory survey by Japan for Ganga rejuvenation, targeting Varanasi city and neighbouring cities.
Energy and Mineral Resources
The two sides welcomed progress of model projects organised by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) in the field of energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The two sides welcomed the Memorandum Of Understanding (MOU) signed in December 2015 for the model project by NEDO for smart grid in Panipat city, Haryana.
Agriculture and Food
The first Dialogue on Agricultural Cooperation between the relevant authorities of the two sides was convened in September 2015, to pursue concrete cooperation in the area of agriculture and food industryincluding the possibility of establishing food industrial parks and developing cold chain.
Science and Technology
The two sides decided to explore future bilateral cooperation in Science and Technology Joint Commission Meeting (S&T JCM) in October 2014 through:
- Launch of India-Japan Joint laboratories in the areas of ‘Internet of Things’, ‘Artificial Intelligence’ and ‘Big Data Analytics’ under Department of Science and Technology – Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (DST-JST) support.
- Launch a new fellowship programme by DST & the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) to enable reciprocal exchange of young scientist researchers.
MOU was signed between DST & High-Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK) to continue the second phase of Indian beam line at Photon Factory, KEK, Tsukuba.
Letter of Intent on the Strategic International Cooperative Program between DST and JSTA was signed in December 2015.
JAXA and ISRO will work together in the field of disaster prevention through the Sentinel Asia project under the framework of the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) and ISRO intends to host the APRSAF in 2017.
Information and Communication Technology
The two sides affirmed the further strengthening of collaboration in the field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) through the ICT Comprehensive Cooperation Framework.
The 3rd India-Japan JWG meeting was held in November 4, 2015 in Tokyo and the two sides confirmed the progress of activities.
Skills Development
The two sides welcomed the establishment of India-Japan Centre of Excellence (IJCoE) in Neemrana, which would contribute to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill in India’ initiatives.
The new Record of Discussion was signed by Japan International Training Cooperation Organization (JITCO) and the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship on the Technical Intern Training Programme.
Healthcare
The first Joint Working Group (JWG) on healthcare cooperation was convened in June 2015, following the signing of MOC in the field of healthcare.
An MOC on Medical Products Regulation Dialogue and Cooperation Framework was signed in December 2015 and the two sides expressed their expectation for cooperation, including capacity building of Indian regulators.