International Relations★ Must Know

India and Japan Sign First Defence Co-Development Project at 16th Annual Summit

By TestNeeti Editorial TeamPublished Sunday, 5 July 2026 2 min readSource: ddindia.co.inArticle 2 of 17

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi elevated the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership at the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi, signing landmark agreements across defence, artificial intelligence, economic security and clean energy. The two sides signed the first-ever India-Japan defence co-development project, a Naval Radio Antenna project, and adopted a Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence. Takaichi, Japan's first female Prime Minister, was on her first visit to India. The leaders launched the India-Japan Biogas Initiative to support 1,000 biogas and organic fertilizer plants, and set a goal of attracting 10 trillion yen of Japanese investment over the next 10 years.

Key Facts & Details

8 points

1
PM Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Sanae Takaichi held the 16th India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi.
2
They signed the first-ever India-Japan defence co-development project, a Naval Radio Antenna project.
3
The leaders adopted a Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence.
4
Sanae Takaichi is Japan's first female Prime Minister, on her first visit to India.
5
They launched the India-Japan Biogas Initiative to support 1,000 biogas and organic fertilizer plants in India.

Deep Dive

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The two sides prepared a Joint Roadmap on Economic Security to strengthen supply-chain resilience in semiconductors, quantum and advanced materials.
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Modi set a goal of attracting 10 trillion yen of Japanese investment over 10 years and doubling the number of Japanese companies in India.
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Over 100 new business agreements signed in the past year are expected to bring more than $10 billion of Japanese investment to India.

Exam Focus

At which summit did India and Japan sign their first defence co-development project, and who is Japan's first female PM?

Exam Relevance & Angle

India-Japan summitry is high-yield for international-relations questions. The summit edition (16th), PM Sanae Takaichi as Japan's first female PM, the first defence co-development (Naval Radio Antenna) project and the India-Japan Biogas Initiative (1,000 plants) are all distinct, testable outcomes of a bilateral engagement.

Target Exams

SBI POIBPS POIBPS RRB OfficerRBI Grade BNABARD Grade ASSC CGLSSC CHSLRRB NTPCLIC AAONIACL AOUPSC CSEState PCS

Background & Context

India and Japan share a Special Strategic and Global Partnership, upgraded over successive Annual Summits that alternate between the two capitals and produce agreements on trade, technology, infrastructure and security. Both countries are members of the Quad alongside the US and Australia, and share a vision of a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific. Japan has long been a major source of investment and development assistance for Indian infrastructure, including high-speed rail. Defence co-development marks a deepening from buyer-seller ties toward joint technology creation, reflecting growing strategic convergence between the two Asian democracies amid regional uncertainty.