India and Japan have moved to strengthen their partnership in the mining sector with a fresh agreement focused on critical minerals, a resource area viewed as essential for clean energy, technology, and economic security.
Minister of Coal and Mines G. Kishan Reddy announced on Friday that the Ministry of Mines and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Tokyo for the 15th India-Japan Annual Summit.
The pact seeks to build resilient and diversified supply chains for critical minerals and rare earth elements, with a view to advancing both nations’ goals of energy security, food security, and net zero emissions. Areas of collaboration include the exchange of information on policies and regulations, potential joint development of mineral projects, sustainable deep-sea mining, and stockpiling strategies.
The agreement also envisions joint investments in exploration, mining, and processing of critical minerals not only in India but also in resource-rich third countries. Any additional forms of cooperation mutually agreed upon will also be pursued, Reddy said.
Prime Minister Modi underscored the broader strategic intent of the partnership after his talks with Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba. “We have set a target of 10 trillion yen investment from Japan in India over the next ten years. Special emphasis will be laid on connecting small and medium enterprises and start-ups of both countries,” he told reporters.
He added that the bilateral roadmap for the coming decade rests on eight pillars, including investment, innovation, economic security, environment, technology, health, mobility, people-to-people exchanges, and state-prefecture collaboration.
-IANS