External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and his Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi explored potential areas of collaboration in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors, resilient supply chains, and digital public infrastructure in a bilateral meeting on Thursday.

“The Ministers emphasized the importance of achieving the target of JPY 5 trillion Japanese investment in India in the period 2022-27,” according to an official statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Hayashi is on a two-day visit to India, his second trip to the country this year. The visit is part of a six-nation tour around Asia and Africa focusing on Japan’s cooperation with the Global South and the Indo-Pacific. The other countries on Hayashi’s tour itinerary include Sri Lanka, Maldives, South Africa, Uganda, and Ethiopia. 

Hayashi and Jaishankar also discussed ways to promote the movement of skilled human resources from India to Japan. Views were exchanged on their respective G20 and G7 presidencies.

The two leaders expressed satisfaction at the strengthening defense and security cooperation, including regular exercises and staff talks between all three services. “In this context, they discussed way forward to deepen Defense Equipment and Technology Cooperation,” the release noted.

The Ministers also discussed cooperation under multilateral and plurilateral frameworks, including the Quad. The Quad is a four-country grouping that also includes the US and Australia and is viewed as a counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific region.

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