India, Japan hold first 'two-plus-two' dialogue

India and Japan on Saturday held their inaugural foreign and defense ministerial dialogue with an aim to give further momentum to their special strategic partnership, particularly in the maritime domain. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar led the Indian delegation while the Japanese side was headed by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Minister of Defence Taro Kono, officials said.

The talks under the new framework are taking place following a decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe during the 13th India-Japan annual summit last year. The two leaders decided to institute the new mechanism for further deepening bilateral security and defense cooperation and bring greater depth to the special strategic and global partnership between the two countries.

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In the talks, the two sides exchanged views on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region and resolved to work for achieving shared objective of peace, prosperity, and progress in the region. The meeting also deliberated on various key facets of Indo-Japan defense and security cooperation.

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