Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to visit India later this month

The visit comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting in November on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in South Africa.

Japan had underlined its commitment to deepen cooperation with India in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors and artificial intelligence, during a bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

According to a statement issued by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, the meeting began at 1:40 pm local time and lasted for about 35 minutes. At the outset, Prime Minister Modi offered his heartfelt congratulations to Prime Minister Takaichi on her assumption of office and expressed his pleasure at the opportunity to hold a face-to-face meeting.

In her response, Prime Minister Takaichi expressed her gratitude and conveyed her heartfelt condolences to the victims of the recent terrorist attack in Delhi and offered her sincere prayers for the swift recovery of those injured.

She also stated that she would like to work with Prime Minister Modi to make Japan-India relations more robust and prosperous. In response, Prime Minister Modi expressed his appreciation, the statement added.

Prime Minister TAKAICHI further stated that, based on the Japan-India Joint Vision for the Next Decade launched during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Japan, she is determined to achieve tangible results across a wide range of fields, including security and defence, the economy, and people-to-people exchanges.

She also mentioned that she aims to "leverage both countries' strengths to foster innovation and growth in the areas of critical and emerging technologies, such as semiconductors and AI, and to concretise cooperation in the area of economic security," as per the Japanese foreign ministry.

In response, Prime Minister Modi stated his intention to advance concrete cooperation in these areas.

The two leaders also concurred to cooperate in realising a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific."

MEA said that both leaders emphasised that India and Japan remain valued partners and trusted friends. Strong ties between the two countries are indispensable for regional and global peace, prosperity, and stability. The leaders agreed to stay in touch and meet again at the earliest opportunity. (ANI)