• “Mr Kihara Minoru, Minister of Defense
• Ms Yoko Kamikawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan
• Dr Jaishankar,
• Members of the Press,
• Ladies and gentlemen,

1. At the outset, I am delighted to co-host the Third edition of India Japan 2+2 dialogue, in India. I must compliment the Ministers, their delegations, and their staff for an excellent interaction aiding in the enhancement of our Special Strategic and Global Partnership. I deeply appreciate their commitment to our bilateral relations. This year is significant for both India and Japan, as we are celebrating 10 years of the establishment of our Special Global Strategic Partnership. I am very happy to see the growth made by both our nations in the last decade in respect of Defence Cooperation.

2. I am pleased to update the members of the press that we have achieved substantial progress from our last meeting in Tokyo in September 2022. The outcomes in many cases have exceeded the expectations. This was possible only due to the great synergy between the Defence Ministries of our two nations. During the course of our discussions today, we covered a wide spectrum of bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest. As two significant stakeholders in the Indo-Pacific, India and Japan, in many ways, are the important sentinels for the region. This partnership is therefore the key to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific.

3. The year 2023 has been a milestone year in our defence engagements. The institution of Joint Services Staff Talks and the first ever Fighter exercise between our Air Forces, Exercise Veer Guardian symbolise the thriving cooperation between our defence forces. For the first time, all three services could conduct their bilateral exercises in one calender year. We also held our first Joint Staff Talks to learn about the best practices regarding jointness in forces. Defence Policy Dialogue (DPD) between our Defence Secretary and Vice Minister of Defence, Japan, was also conducted in April 2023.

4. In the area of Defence Equipment and Technological Cooperation, notable progress has been made. We have set a vision of a developed and transformed India, when we enter 2047 completing 100 years of independence. Building domestic defence capabilities to achieve Aatmanirbhar Bharat is an integral part of this vision. Partnering with Japan in Defence technologies and industry will be instrumental in achieving our goal of making India a global manufacturing hub.

5. India and Japan have a shared vision of the Indo-Pacific. There is growing convergence and common outlook on issues of peace, security and stability in the Indo-Pacific Region. India is an active member of the ADMM Plus to further cooperation amongst ASEAN and the Plus countries including Japan. In today's meeting, we expressed our commitment to support each other's endeavours to arrive at meaningful outcomes to promote stability and security in the region.

6. I once again thank Mr Kihara Minoru, Minister of Defense and Ms Yoko Kamikawa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan, for the extremely productive discussions today and for voicing their commitment towards furthering the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

Thank You!”

ABB/Savvy