New Delhi:
India and Japan on Friday announced a series of new initiatives aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI) and critical minerals, following the 18th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue held in New Delhi.
During the talks, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi formally launched a new India-Japan AI Dialogue and agreed to establish a Joint Working Group on Critical Minerals, signalling a shared focus on economic security and supply chain resilience.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), the initiatives are designed to advance collaboration in rare earth elements and other strategically important minerals, which are vital for emerging technologies, clean energy transitions, and global manufacturing ecosystems.
Focus on economic security and emerging technologies
Addressing a press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the AI dialogue would provide a structured platform to expand bilateral cooperation in cutting-edge technologies.
“Today, the ministers launched the AI dialogue to give a push to bilateral cooperation in this sector. On economic security, this is an important area of engagement between the two countries, not just for our economies but for the world’s economies at large,” Jaiswal said.
He added that both sides had agreed to convene a Joint Working Group on Critical Minerals under the broader economic security initiative to take forward collaboration on rare earths and other essential minerals.
In addition, India and Japan also decided to hold a private-sector dialogue to strengthen public-private partnerships, recognising the role of industry in building secure and resilient supply chains.
Next round of Economic Security Dialogue in 2026
The two sides confirmed that the second round of the India-Japan Economic Security Dialogue, led by India’s Foreign Secretary and Japan’s Vice Minister, will be held in the first half of 2026.
During the strategic dialogue, the foreign ministers held wide-ranging discussions covering investment, trade, technology, innovation, defence cooperation, supply chain resilience, as well as people-to-people and cultural exchanges.
“Both leaders underlined the importance of further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership, in keeping with the outcomes of the 15th Annual Summit held in Japan last year,” Jaiswal said.
High-level diplomatic engagement continues
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is on an official visit to India from January 15 to January 17, as per the MEA.
The strategic dialogue follows an earlier meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg, where both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral ties amid evolving global economic and geopolitical challenges.