India and Japan on Thursday agreed to deepen maritime security cooperation, strengthen naval coordination and explore the possibility of joint development in naval shipbuilding and design as the two countries sought to further advance their defence partnership in the Indo-Pacific.
The agreement was reached at a meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinjiro Koizumi in New Delhi. The two ministers also signed a Memorandum of Arrangement on Maritime Security Cooperation to provide a framework for closer collaboration between the Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
