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OPINION SEPTEMBER 06, 2024 | The Indian Eye 10

The Importance of the

Recent India-Japan 2+2 Foreign

and Defense Ministerial Meeting

The recent India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting held on 20 August 2024
reaffirmed the growing strategic partnership between the two countries. The meeting contributed

to further enhance and strengthen collaboration on security and defense dimensions to address the
contemporary geopolitical challenges in the Indo-Pacific

DR. TUNCHINMANG LANGEL

he third edition of the In-
dia-Japan 2+2 Foreign and
TDefense Ministerial Meeting
was held in New Delhi on 20 August
2024. The Indian side was represent-
ed by External Affairs Minister, Dr
S Jaishankar, and Defense Minister,
Shri Rajnath Singh. For the Japa-
nese side, the Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Japan, Ms Kamikawa
Yoko and Minister of Defense of
Japan, Mr Kihara Minoru, attended
the meeting.
The second edition of the meet-
ing was held in Tokyo on 8 Septem-
ber 2022, while the first was held on
30 November 2019.
The third meeting has been
held at an opportune time to mark
the significant milestone in reach-
ing 10 years of the “Special Stra-
tegic and Global Partnership” de-
clared between the two countries in
2014.
To mark this special occasion, the
two countries underlined supporting
efforts to foster people-to-people ex-
changes that complement the strate-
gic partnership. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addresses a press statement in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Japan Defence Minister
The establishment of a new Minoru Kihara and Foreign Minister Kamikawa Yoko during the third India-Japan 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting, at the Hyder-
Consulate in Fukuoka and the pro- abad House in New Delhi on August 21 (ANI)
posed celebrations of India Month
in Japan and Japan Month in India
in September were acknowledged in ties and expand on the substantial tion of commitment, such as for a issued in December 2022, in specific.
and appreciated within this frame- convergences. Taking this into con- free and open Indo-Pacific, full sup- In terms of progress made to pro-
work. sideration, the joint statement issued port for ASEAN unity and centrality, mote cooperation through multi-lay-
Key Takeaways at the third meeting reiterated their as well as the ASEAN Outlook on the ered dialogues between the two
commitment to the rules-based in- Indo-Pacific (AOIP), and to advance countries, there was much apprecia-
midst the backdrop of unpre- ternational order and peaceful settle- cooperation within the Quad. The tion for the Defense Policy Dialogue,
dictable geopolitical develop- ment of disputes and underscored the Indo-Pacific remained a substantive Foreign Office Consultations (FOC),
Aments in the last decade, and need for all countries to refrain from area of common focus, and the min- Vice Minister/Foreign Secretary lev-
especially within the two years since any attempt to unilaterally change isters expressed their desire to fur- el Dialogue, the Disarmament and
the last edition, the third meeting of the status quo. ther deepen bilateral security and de- Non-Proliferation Dialogue, the Cy-
the 2+2 came at an opportune mo- Per the joint statement, both fense cooperation, in light of Japan’s ber Dialogue, the India-Japan Joint
ment to take stock of the evolution countries reiterated their reaffirma- revised National Security Strategy Continued on next page... >>

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