NEW DELHI: Japan’s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi is scheduled to arrive in India on Thursday for a strategic dialogue with India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, officials familiar with the matter said. The discussions are expected to cover key areas of bilateral cooperation, including security, trade, technology, and regional developments in the Indo-Pacific, reflecting the ongoing strategic alignment between the two countries.

This visit marks Motegi’s first trip to India in his current tenure as Japan’s foreign minister. It forms part of a broader nine-day tour across West Asia and Asia, during which he will also visit Israel, Palestine, Qatar, and the Philippines. The strategic dialogue with Jaishankar is scheduled for Friday and is seen as a platform to review and strengthen the multifaceted partnership between India and Japan amid evolving global dynamics, including the shifting foreign policies of the Trump administration in the United States.

India and Japan have steadily deepened their partnership over the past decade, with cooperation spanning economic, strategic, and technological domains. Both countries are also key members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad), which brings together India, Japan, the United States, and Australia to coordinate on security and economic matters in the Indo-Pacific. The upcoming dialogue is expected to assess progress in Quad initiatives, particularly as New Delhi navigates a period of uncertainty in its relations with Washington.

Motegi will be the first senior member of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s new government to visit India. Takaichi and Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in South Africa last November, reaffirming their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. Modi himself had visited Tokyo in August of last year for the annual India-Japan summit, which resulted in several significant outcomes aimed at strengthening bilateral ties.

During Modi’s visit to Tokyo, Japan announced a target of 10 trillion yen (approximately $68 billion) in private investment in India over the next decade. Both sides also launched a 10-year roadmap for enhanced economic cooperation, focusing on areas such as technology, digitalisation, and the exploration and processing of rare earth minerals. These initiatives form part of a long-term vision to deepen economic integration and strategic collaboration between the two countries.

Under Takaichi’s leadership, Japan has emphasized leveraging the strengths of both nations to foster innovation and growth in critical and emerging technologies, including semiconductors and artificial intelligence. In addition, she has highlighted the importance of strengthening economic security, an area of increasing relevance given global supply chain vulnerabilities and regional geopolitical shifts.

The upcoming strategic dialogue between Motegi and Jaishankar is expected to provide an opportunity to review these initiatives, address ongoing challenges, and explore new avenues of cooperation. Areas likely to be discussed include defence collaboration, joint technological development, trade facilitation, and regional security architecture in the Indo-Pacific. Observers note that the dialogue comes at a time when both India and Japan are keen to reinforce their strategic and economic partnership, particularly in light of broader geopolitical uncertainties and rising regional security concerns.

Japan’s engagement with India has historically been characterized by a strong focus on infrastructure, technology, and economic investment, alongside efforts to enhance regional security cooperation. The two countries have developed frameworks for joint projects, capacity-building in defence, and collaboration on emerging technologies. This visit is expected to reaffirm these commitments and set the stage for actionable outcomes in both short-term projects and long-term strategic initiatives.

In addition to bilateral issues, the dialogue is likely to touch upon regional developments in the Indo-Pacific, including maritime security, counterterrorism, and measures to ensure freedom of navigation. Both sides have repeatedly emphasized the need for a rules-based order and multilateral coordination to address evolving challenges in the region.

The visit of Toshimitsu Motegi also reflects the continuity of high-level engagement between India and Japan, which has been sustained through regular summits, ministerial visits, and dialogue mechanisms. Analysts suggest that these interactions not only strengthen bilateral ties but also contribute to broader regional stability and economic growth.

In summary, Motegi’s visit is expected to consolidate India-Japan cooperation across multiple dimensions, reinforce shared strategic priorities, and provide a platform for planning joint initiatives in technology, trade, and security. The strategic dialogue is poised to strengthen a partnership that both countries view as pivotal for the next decade of Indo-Pacific engagement, economic development, and regional stability.