"Seeking to realise our shared target of 5 trillion Yen in terms of overall investment": Jaishankar

"In economic cooperation, we see a lot of potential for quantum jump of Japanese investment into India, especially from SMEs, as we enter a decade of take-off growth. We are again, as the Minister underlined, seeking to realise our shared target of 5 trillion Yen in terms of overall investment. Government of India remains committed to the continuous improvement in our infrastructure environment. I underlined the importance we attach to the timely execution of flagship projects like the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Railway, which is India's first shinkansen project," said Jaishankar in a joint press statement with his Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa.

The remarks of Jaishankar came after the 16th India-Japan Foreign Ministers Strategic Dialogue. It covered diverse aspects of bilateral relations and set the stage for discussions on major regional and global issues in the remaining sessions.

He also welcomed Japan's development role in India's Northeast, which is crucial in transforming the connectivity and industrial landscape of that region.

"It will benefit not only our two countries but also other countries in the neighbourhood through a network of forward and backward linkages. We further agreed to explore coordinated development partnership initiatives by our agencies in third countries," said the EAM.

He also underscored the need to work together to enhance each other's economic security and supply chain resilience by taking a strategic view of trade and technology.

"In this context, we discussed possibilities in the semiconductor ecosystem, green technologies and digital payments by leveraging our complementary strengths," said Jaishankar.

In his address, Jaishankar highlighted the need for new steps to adapt the relationship to emerging geopolitical, geoeconomic, and geo-technological trends.

"Today, our meeting allowed us to take stock of various ongoing lines of effort. Since the dialogue was last held in July in New Delhi, we agreed on the need for new steps, many of which my colleague the minister spoke about, for which to make this relationship prepared for and responsive to emerging geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-technological trends, and as well to the growing demands of the people of the two countries to get to know each other better," said Jaishankar.

Both ministers emphasised the importance of responding to the growing demands of their citizens for deeper mutual understanding. The strategic guidance provided during the talks aimed to realise the vision of the India-Japan Special Strategic Global Partnership and align with the expectations of their leaders.

A significant milestone was acknowledged in the "good progress" of defence and security relations, which both ministers welcomed.

"We have made good progress in our defence and security relations and which we both welcomed today," noted EAM Jaishankar.

Notably, the Indian Army is currently engaged in joint exercises with the Japanese self-defence force in the Rajasthan state of India, showcasing the depth of military collaboration.

"The three branches of our military and coast guard are productively engaged with the Japanese counterparts with greater ease," he said.

"Through the newly operationalised reciprocal partnership arrangement. There have been exchanges about cooperation possibilities in areas of jointness and new domains like cyber and space."

The dialogue, according to the EAM, also witnessed exchanges on cooperation possibilities in areas of jointness, as well as in new domains such as cyber and space. Progress in the defence, equipment, and technology cooperation framework was reviewed, indicating a commitment to advancing collaboration in critical domains.

Notably, Jaishankar is on a visit to Japan from March 6-8. Before this, he visited South Korea, where he met the top leaders during his stay. (ANI)