New Delhi: The Japanese defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, will visit India on August 19-20 for talks with defence minister, Rajnath Singh, with the two sides expected to discuss maritime security, defence technology and joint development of military equipment. Koizumi will arrive in New Delhi on Wednesday after concluding his visit to Australia and is scheduled to inspect an Indian naval base during his stay.
The meeting will take place on August 20, when the two ministers are expected to discuss joint development of drones under an agreement to expand cooperation in defence equipment and technology for maritime security. They are also likely to discuss preparations for the next India-Japan “two-plus-two” meeting involving their foreign and defence ministers, expected later this year.
Koizumi’s visit comes shortly after the eighth India-Japan Defence Policy Dialogue in Tokyo on July 13, where the two sides reviewed military exchanges, cooperation between joint headquarters, maritime cooperation, defence exercises, capacity building and defence equipment and technology cooperation. The discussions also covered defence industrial collaboration, technological innovation, cyber security and space, reflecting the widening scope of the two countries’ defence partnership.
India and Japan have strengthened military cooperation through regular exercises and exchanges, including the Japan-India maritime exercise, or Jimex, which focuses on improving coordination between their navies. The two countries also signed the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement in 2020, allowing their armed forces to access each other’s supplies and services.
The upcoming visit will be Koizumi’s first meeting with Rajnath Singh as Japan’s defence minister. It follows defence secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh’s July visit to Tokyo, where he met Koizumi and invited him to India on behalf of Rajnath Singh.
Koizumi’s India visit is part of his five-day trip from August 17 to 21, which also includes talks with Australian defence minister, Richard Marles in Canberra. He is scheduled to return to Haneda on August 21.