ISTANBUL / NEW DELHI

Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Friday vowed to cooperate on building resilient supply chains.

During the 18th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue in New Delhi, the two ministers agreed to promote cooperation toward strengthening supply chains and to convene a joint working group on mineral resources soon, according to a statement from the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

They also agreed to establish a strategic dialogue on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to advance concrete cooperation in the field.

Jaishankar and Motegi further discussed the current situation in the Indo-Pacific and other regional developments.

“We have today not just an opportunity, but also an obligation, a duty to shape the global order, and in the current uncertain global situation, it’s even more important that we work closely towards shared strategic goals,” Jaishankar said, according to a statement from the Indian External Affairs Ministry.

“Economic security today is particularly paramount… So, we will be discussing resilient supply chains, critical minerals, and how to address energy, health, and maritime security in our talks today,” he said.

Motegi is on a visit to India until Saturday.

Separately, China on Friday reacted to Japan signing an acquisition and cross-servicing agreement aimed at enhancing bilateral defense cooperation with the Philippines during Motegi's visit to Manila a day earlier.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said that Beijing "always believes that cooperation between states should not target any third party or harm the interests of any third party; nor should such cooperation undermine regional peace and stability."