India Invites Japanese Companies To Collaborate In Defense Sector - Foreign Ministry

India has invited companies from Japan to cooperate in the defense sphere, the Foreign Secretary of India Vinay Kwatra said after the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, on Monday

NEW DELHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th March, 2023) India has invited companies from Japan to cooperate in the defense sphere, the Foreign Secretary of India Vinay Kwatra said after the Indian prime minister Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart, Fumio Kishida, on Monday.

"When it came to different segments of cooperation in the field of defense, Prime Minister Narendra Modi clearly put on the table that one of the areas of very strong cooperation between India and Japan could be co-innovation, co-design, co-creation ... These are words which have a very strong underpinning, policy underpinning on the Indian side of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' ('Self-reliant India') in the field of defense," Kwatra said at a press briefing of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs after the Indian and Japanese prime ministers' negotiations.

He noted that during the meeting "no specific equipment or platforms were discussed, but technology as a wider spectrum".

�"Prime Minister Modi made it very clear to Prime Minister Kishida that when it comes to private sector investments in the field of defense, when it comes to foreign direct investment in the field of defense, those two sectors are completely open in India.

The Japanese are not only invited, but are also encouraged to harness the opportunity and advantages that are inherent in the Indian manufacturing ecosystem, the policy framework liberalization, that government of India had undertaken in the field of defense, link it to 'Make in India' not just for India, but also for the rest of the world," Kwatra stated.

The "Self-reliant India" program was launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May 2020. It's purpose is to make India independent in the economy's key sectors and to increase it's sustainability to future geoeconomic shocks.

The declared invitation to partnership is yet another step to strengthening economical relationship between India in Japan. On March 20, during his two-day trip to India Kishida announced that Japanese government and companies are ready to invest $75 billion in Indo-Pacific region until 2030.