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NEW DELHI — In a major expansion of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership, India and Japan on Thursday signed a series of monumental agreements covering artificial intelligence, critical minerals, clean energy, and defense technology. The pacts were finalized during wide-ranging bilateral discussions between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, marking her first official visit to New Delhi for the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit.
With global supply chains and economic security taking center stage, the two leaders adopted three landmark joint documents aimed at building technological resilience and diversifying critical infrastructure.
AI and Economic Security Drive the Partnership
Artificial intelligence emerged as a primary pillar of the refreshed alliance. Highlighting the synergy between the two Asian economies, Prime Minister Modi noted that combining Japan’s precision engineering hardware with India’s vast software expertise and tech workforce would provide a major boost to global AI development.
“The convergence of Japan’s precision technology and India’s software capabilities will give a new momentum and strength to global AI development,” PM Modi told reporters following the talks.
The two nations also committed to drafting a comprehensive roadmap for Economic Security. This framework establishes formal collaborative pipelines to mitigate vulnerabilities in supply chains, prioritizing semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and advanced manufacturing capabilities against threats of economic weaponization.
Critical Metals and Energy Resilience
Deepening their industrial integration, the Geological Survey of India signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) with the Japan Organisation for Metals and Energy Security. The agreement clears the way for joint mineral exploration and tech-sharing in battery manufacturing—vital steps toward safeguarding the supply of critical minerals and rare-earth elements necessary for the global green transition.
On the energy front, India’s Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas partnered with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry to issue a joint statement on Energy Resilience. Key initiatives under this agreement include:
- Strategic Oil Reserves: Collaborative frameworks for strategic stockpiling and oil reserve mechanisms.
- The India-Japan Bio-gas Initiative: A sustainability program targeting the establishment of 1,000 biogas and organic fertilizer plants across rural India to support local livelihoods and minimize fossil fuel imports.
A “New Chapter” in Defense Technology
The summit also bore witness to an unprecedented breakthrough in military cooperation. Moving beyond standard joint exercises, India and Japan finalized an agreement for their first-ever joint defense co-development project.
The initial project centers on the Naval Radio Antenna ‘UNICORN’ mast, intended for deployment on Indian Navy vessels. PM Modi hailed the development, calling it a “new chapter” that will strengthen maritime security, regional peace, and a rules-based order across the Indo-Pacific.
Expanding Industrial Footprints
Underscoring the immediate economic impact of the bilateral talks, both prime ministers jointly inaugurated Maruti Suzuki’s massive new Kharkhoda manufacturing facility in Haryana via video conferencing.
Spanning 800 acres, the ₹35,000 crore state-of-the-art complex operates on 100% renewable energy and leverages Next-Gen “Industry 5.0” technology, including AI-driven collaborative robots (cobots). The massive investment sits within a broader 10-trillion-yen private investment commitment from Japan to India established last year, pushing bilateral trade numbers past $27.5 billion for the 2025/26 fiscal year.
Expressing immense confidence in the future of the relationship, Prime Minister Takaichi stated, “Amid a turbulent international landscape, establishing such a mutually complementary, cooperative relationship has become ever more important… Together, these initiatives will pave the way for peace, stability, and progress across the entire region.”
