India and Japan Reaffirm Strong Ties, Agree to Boost Bilateral Cooperation

Sharing the details in a post on X, MEA said, "Foreign Secretary @VikramMisri met with Mr. Takayuki Kobayashi, Chairperson of the Policy Research Council of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party @kobahawk.Both sides reaffirmed the strategic importance of India-Japan relations and agreed to advance bilateral ties in domains of shared interest."

Earlier, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met a Japanese delegation led by Takayuki Kobayashi, Member of the House of Representatives and Chairperson of the Liberal Democratic Party's Policy Research Council, to discuss strengthening India-Japan economic engagement and enhancing bilateral cooperation across key sectors.

Sharing details of the meeting, Goyal said on X, "Discussed strengthening India-Japan economic engagement, enhancing MSME partnerships, and deepening collaboration in key sectors like automobiles, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and advanced manufacturing."

Goyal highlighted the need to boost exports from India and improve market access, underlining the importance of creating a more enabling business environment to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries.

The discussions also explored future pathways under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), along with broader frameworks for economic cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Minister noted that this "reaffirmed our commitment to further strengthening the business ecosystem and deepening economic ties with Japan, while identifying new opportunities for collaboration across sectors."

On Sunday, Rajya Sabha MP Harsh Vardhan Shringla met Takayuki Kobayashi, Chairperson of the Policy Research Council of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), along with two other senior Japanese lawmakers.

He said India and Japan can take their bilateral partnership "to the next level", highlighting opportunities for deeper cooperation in defence, investments, energy and people-to-people ties.

The meeting was also attended by BJP MPs Arun Singh, Tejasvi Surya and Alok Sharma.

Shringla thanked Ono Keiichi for facilitating the interaction.

"I thank Ono Keiichi, Ambassador of Japan to India, for arranging this very useful interaction," he said.

During the discussions, Shringla emphasised the strength of India-Japan relations and the growing political momentum to expand cooperation.

"During the discussion, I spoke about our close ties with Japan and the potential to take this partnership to the next level, given the strong political will that exists today," he stated.

He added that both countries could strengthen collaboration "particularly in areas such as investments, defence, energy, people-to-people ties, including the effective use of human resources, and joint collaborations in third countries."

Meanwhile, the delegation met BJP National President Nitin Nabin at the party headquarters in the national capital on Sunday.

A diplomatic interaction was held between the BJP President and the Japanese delegation.

LDP is the current ruling party in Japan, with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi at the helm.

- ANI