Japanese Foreign Affairs Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono met Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of the first two-plus-two talks between India and Japan to be held here on Saturday. The main focus of this dialogue will be to increase maritime security cooperation in the strategically important watershed, including the Indo-Pacific region. Officials gave this information.

The Indian delegation will be headed by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, while Japan will be represented by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Defense Minister Taro Kono. The Ministry of External Affairs said that the two-plus-two meeting between India and Japan will enable both sides to review and exchange ideas to strengthen defense and security cooperation.

India and Japan are negotiating under the new framework following the decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart AB Shinzo during the 13th Annual Summit meeting last year. The two leaders decided to introduce new arrangements aimed at further strengthening security and defense cooperation between the two countries and to intensify special strategic and global partnerships.

According to government sources, there is scope for extensive cooperation in defense sector between India and Japan. Military cooperation has started between the two countries, but no specific talks have been started yet on the deals of defense equipment. The relationship between the two countries is still largely limited to economic activities, but now they will also have to change their relationship according to the changing global environment.