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India and Japan on Thursday agreed to convene the fourth India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo by the end of the year, as the two countries committed to expanding defence cooperation across design, manufacturing, military exercises, maritime security and defence technology during Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's official visit to India.
Addressing a special briefing following the summit, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Takaichi held extensive discussions on strengthening defence ties. "First of all, what I would say is that we obviously welcome the evolution of Japanese postures insofar as defence exports are concerned. There has been a considerable and, from our perspective, positive evolution on this issue," Misri said. He said the two leaders agreed to broaden defence cooperation. "There was discussion between the two leaders on defence-related issues as well, and there was agreement that we could look at cooperation in multiple areas. In fact, Prime Minister Modi suggested that this cooperation could span the entire spectrum from designing to production and manufacturing," he said. Highlighting ongoing projects, Misri pointed to progress on the Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) programme. "You would have noticed the leaders marking the progress on the major project that is underway right now between the two countries, which is the UNICORN project, which is a naval radio antenna-related project," he said. He added that both sides also discussed cooperation across land, air and naval systems, including unmanned platforms, while noting the growing tempo of bilateral military exercises. "We have, of course, conducted naval exercises for a long period of time, but increasingly now, and in some cases for the first time ever, there are land exercises, army exercises and air force exercises as well that are being conducted," Misri said. Misri said Prime Minister Takaichi stressed the importance of strengthening institutional mechanisms for defence cooperation. "Prime Minister Takaichi made specific mention of the need to bolster institutional cooperation in this area, and in that context, the 2+2 mechanism, which brings the Foreign and Defence Ministers of the two countries together on the same platform, was referenced by her. We look forward to the next meeting of that platform in Tokyo at a mutually convenient date. This is clearly a growing area of cooperation between the two countries," he said. On reports regarding the possible construction of Mogami-class frigates in India, Misri clarified that the issue was not discussed during the summit. "Today, just to be specific in response to your question, there was no discussion on the Mogami-class frigates as such," he said. He added that discussions on shipbuilding cooperation with Japan continue. According to the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit Joint Statement, the two Prime Ministers directed their Ministers to hold the fourth India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Meeting in Tokyo by the end of this year. The joint statement also welcomed the successful conduct of JAIMEX 25, Japan's participation in the International Fleet Review 2026 in Visakhapatnam, and agreed to deepen maritime security cooperation through enhanced exercises, maritime domain awareness, naval maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and defence equipment and technology cooperation under the Make in India framework. The two leaders further expressed satisfaction that an agreement in principle had been reached on the remaining technical details of the Unified Complex Radio Antenna (UNICORN) project and agreed to explore additional joint projects in defence equipment and technology. (ANI)
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