Your Excellency Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi
Your Excellency Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada
My senior colleague Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh ji
Members of the media
Let me begin by thanking the Government of Japan and specifically, Ministers, the two of you for extending a warm welcome and hosting our delegations today in Tokyo.
2. The 2nd India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Meeting takes place in the backdrop of a complicated global environment. We are two nations committed to promoting a rules-based order, ensuring respect for international law and norms, and safeguarding the global commons. To our endeavors in that regard are now added the necessity of creating resilient and reliable supply chains in the aftermath of the Covid pandemic. Conflicts and climate events have further aggravated the global economic situation, creating deep anxieties in respect of energy and food security. Trust and transparency are our shared concerns in a digitized world.
3. In the face of such challenges, the case for India and Japan to collaborate more closely on foreign policy and security questions has become even stronger. Our consultations in various formats have dwelt on the imperative of economic security. We are also working together on cyber security, 5G deployment and critical and strategic minerals. These were part of the agenda of our deliberations today.
4. Strengthening our foreign policy coordination is essential to realize the true benefits of the substantial convergence in our interests and outlook. They obviously concentrate on the Indo-Pacific but extend to many other regional, global and multilateral platforms as well. The exchange of views on the crucial situations facing the international community today was particularly useful.
5. In parallel, there is an ongoing endeavor to deepen our defence exchanges and explore areas for practical cooperation. These have been covered in the remarks of the Defence Minister.
6. Our Special Strategic and Global Partnership reflects interests and increasingly our footprint that extend well beyond the immediate region. In growing our own ties and working with other partners, we are both guided by shared values and common principles. We have a particular responsibility for ensuring a free, open, inclusive and prosperous Indo-Pacific. That is done through a range of policies and mechanisms, including cooperation in the Quad framework, utilization of ASEAN platforms and participation in bodies like ReCAAP, Supply Chain Resilience Initiative, etc. Together, we are also poised to take forward the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, Indo-Pacific Partnership for Maritime Domain Awareness and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, amongst others.
7. India and Japan are members of influential global groupings. As Minister Hayashi told us, we will be chairing the G20 next year, overlapping with Japan’s chairship of the G-7. Our common commitment to reformed multilateralism is reflected in the G-4 consultations that we have regularly, which we will be holding later in the month. As active providers of development assistance, we see benefits of cooperating in third countries, especially in South East Asia, South Asia and Africa.
8. The Annual Summit between our Prime Ministers has provided guidance for the 2+2 meeting today. I am confident that our deliberations in turn will contribute to the further intensification and development of our partnership.
Tokyo
September 08, 2022