Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday evening for a three-day official visit to India from 1 to 3 July.

This marks her first official trip to the country since assuming office, and she will participate in the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit, a key platform for advancing bilateral cooperation.

She was received at the airport by Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh. The Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal welcomed her on X, noting that the visit represents an important step in strengthening the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan.

The summit will include high-level talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, participation in the India-Japan Business Forum, and engagements with business leaders. The visit is expected to deepen cooperation in economic security, resilient supply chains, emerging technologies, defence, maritime security, and investment.

Before departing Tokyo, Takaichi emphasised India’s growing importance in Japan’s foreign and strategic policy. She stated that amid global uncertainty, collaboration with India, which shares fundamental values and strategic interests, has become increasingly significant.

She outlined three priorities for her discussions with Modi: deepening strategic cooperation, promoting economic security, and fostering collaboration between businesses in both countries.

She also highlighted the role of the private sector, noting that more than 150 representatives from Japan’s business community will participate in the India-Japan Economic Forum. She said that by uniting government and private sectors, both nations aim to broaden cooperation and strengthen economic resilience.

Regional security will feature prominently in her talks with Modi, particularly in the Indo-Pacific context. Takaichi stressed that India, like Japan, bears responsibility for achieving peace and stability in the region. She intends to discuss efforts toward realising a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, including cooperation within the framework of Japan, the United States, Australia, and India.

She expressed confidence that the visit would also strengthen her personal rapport with Prime Minister Modi, describing it as an opportunity to deepen mutual trust. Earlier in the day, the Indian Embassy in Tokyo wished the Japanese delegation a safe journey and confirmed that preparations in New Delhi were complete.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the summit will allow both leaders to review the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation and exchange views on regional and global developments. The agenda will focus on expanding economic engagement, strengthening strategic coordination, and enhancing cooperation in critical technologies, particularly semiconductors, critical minerals, and economic security.

Diplomatic sources indicated that investment and innovation will be central themes, with measures to diversify supply chains and strengthen industrial cooperation in strategically important sectors. Maritime security and defence technology cooperation are also expected to receive considerable attention.

Officials revealed that both countries are exploring the development of an “Industrial Value Chain” connecting the Bay of Bengal with India’s Northeast, integrating infrastructure development with regional connectivity and manufacturing. The India-Japan Business Forum will provide industry leaders with a platform to explore new investment opportunities.

Proposals under discussion include cooperation on artificial intelligence, a large-scale green ammonia project in Odisha, expanded biogas collaboration, and initiatives to strengthen regional resilience through POWERR Asia.

Expected outcomes include a Joint Statement reaffirming the strategic partnership, along with agreements and memoranda of understanding in areas such as AI, pharmaceuticals, batteries, critical minerals, and energy resilience.

India and Japan elevated their relationship to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014 and have since expanded cooperation across defence, infrastructure, trade, digital technologies, clean energy, mobility, healthcare, and people-to-people exchanges.

The upcoming summit builds on the momentum of Modi’s visit to Tokyo in August 2025, where both countries adopted a Joint Vision for the Next Decade, outlining cooperation in economic security, technology, innovation, environmental sustainability, mobility, and state-prefecture partnerships.

That summit also produced a Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation to strengthen defence ties in response to the evolving Indo-Pacific security environment. It launched the India-Japan Economic Security Initiative to deepen collaboration in resilient supply chains and critical technologies, including semiconductors, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, clean energy, and critical minerals.

Another major outcome was the Action Plan for India-Japan Human Resource Exchange and Cooperation, which envisages the exchange of over 5,00,000 personnel in five years, including 50,000 skilled professionals from India to Japan. Modi and Takaichi also interacted last month at the G7 Summit, reaffirming their commitment to expanding economic cooperation with a focus on trade and investment.

With strategic convergence deepening and economic cooperation expanding across multiple sectors, the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit is expected to further reinforce the partnership between New Delhi and Tokyo while advancing a shared vision for a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.

Agencies