This visit marks the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit, where the two leaders will discuss various aspects of their strategic partnership. Know what is the key agenda amid India-US strained trade ties?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is all set for a two-day visit to Japan in a bid to accelerate trade and economic ties. PM Modi will travel to Japan from August 29-30 to take part in the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart, Shigeru Ishiba.
PM Modi’s first meeting with Japan PM after 7 years: Key agenda
India’s Ambassador to Japan, Sibi George, on Thursday said that several important Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed, and outcome documents will be released during the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Japan.
George, in a conversation with ANI, stated that this visit is expected to give new momentum to the India-Japan relationship over the next decade, built on a solid foundation of political, economic, and people-to-people ties. “This is the first visit of the Prime Minister since Prime Minister Ishiba assumed office. This is an important annual summit, and as I mentioned, we have a series of important outcomes which we are working on during this visit,” he said.
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MoUs to be signed
This visit marks the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit, where the two leaders will discuss various aspects of their strategic partnership. George said that there will be several MoUs to be signed during the visit.”I’m very happy to note that we will have a great visit, which will cover the entire spectrum of our relationships, giving new momentum to our relationship for the next 10 years. There will be a lot of MOUs which will be signed, very important MOUs will be signed and very important outcome documents will be released,” he said.
George noted that the bilateral ties between the two nations have improved over the years.”In the bilateral level, we have very good political relationship. We have seen how our economic relationship has transformed over the years. And, of course, this year we are celebrating as the India-Japan Year of Science, Technology, and Innovation Exchanges. So we have been working on each of these elements,” he said. He further stated that this visit is a means to take stock of the relations.”And this is the time to take a review, a review of the progress we have made, and to come up with a roadmap to take the relationship further to the next higher level in the coming 10 years. So this visit to the annual summit is a great occasion to review that relationship and also take it to a new, higher level of partnership,” he said.
Quad discussions
The Quad grouping, comprising India, Japan, Australia, and the US, will be a significant topic of discussion. Ambassador Sibi George emphasised that the Quad has made significant progress since its inception in 2004 and has a concrete agenda for promoting peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region.”India’s special strategic and global partnership has the entire spectrum of relationships. It is not only bilateral, but it is also plurilateral and multilateral. So in the plurilateral framework, QUAD is an important framework, an important group of four like-minded countries coming together with concrete, positive proposals to build a relationship for the peace, stability and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and beyond,” he said.
Geopolitical situation
When asked about the 50 per cent tariffs imposed on India by the US, Sibi George, referring to India and Japan being members of Quad, suggested that the leadership might discuss “the geopolitical situation and the geo-economic situation. India and Japan are two important countries in the Indo-Pacific region, and they are also two very important countries in the Quad. When they meet, the leadership will discuss the geopolitical and geo-economic situations. Definitely, all these issues will come up during the talks,” he said.
As India faces US President Donald Trump’s 50 per cent tariffs, PM Modi’s visit to Japan becomes essential to observe the future of Quad, of which India, the US, Japan and Australia are part of. Meanwhile, the US has reduced tariffs on Japan to 15 per cent after securing a trade deal. It had imposed an initial tariff of 25 per cent in July 2025.
(With inputs from ANI)
