India, Japan vow to deepen maritime ties

India and Japan have vowed to deepen maritime cooperation and also held consultations on disarmament, non-proliferation and export control. The 5th Round of India-Japan Maritime Affairs Dialogue was held in Tokyo on Tuesday with the Indian delegation led by Indra Mani Pandey, Additional Secretary (Disarmament and International Security Affairs), Ministry of External Affairs, while Japanese delegation was led by Ambassador Yamanaka A Osamu, Deputy Assistant Minister, Deputy Director-General in Foreign Policy Bureau.

The two sides exchanged views on various topics of mutual interest in the maritime domain and identified the means for further strengthening their maritime cooperation, a Ministry of External Affairs statement said. Both sides reiterated the importance of the dialogue as an important mechanism between the two countries for consultations on issues of mutual interest in maritime affairs and agreed to hold the next round of talks on a mutually convenient date in India, it said.

Meanwhile, the 8th Round of India-Japan bilateral consultations on disarmament, non-proliferation and export control was held in Tokyo on December 23. The Indian side was led by Pandey, while the Japanese delegation was headed by Ambassador Hisajima Naoto, Director-General, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the consultations, the two sides exchanged views on issues of mutual interest in these fields, the MEA said.