India-Japan Annual Summit 2026: Economic Security, AI and Defence Take Centre Stage

India and Japan held the 16th edition of their Annual Summit on July 2, 2026, with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi visiting India from July 1 to 3 on her first trip to the country since taking office in October 2025. She was accompanied by a large delegation of more than 100 business leaders, and the two governments held a joint economic forum alongside the leaders' talks.

The India-Japan Annual Summit is a mechanism set up in 2006 under which the prime ministers of the two countries meet every year, taking turns to host. This year's meeting followed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tokyo in August 2025 for the previous edition. The main agenda covered economic security, including building resilient supply chains for semiconductors, energy security, cooperation on artificial intelligence, and closer defence and security ties.

The two sides were expected to issue a joint declaration on economic security cooperation and a joint statement on AI, and to finalise about ten agreements. These covered areas such as upstream development of oil and gas, exploration of critical minerals, pharmaceuticals and next-generation mobility systems. Japan views India as an "indispensable partner" in its updated vision for a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific".

The economic ties between the two nations are deep. Around 1,400 Japanese companies operate in India, nearly half of them in manufacturing. Bilateral trade reached 27.5 billion US dollars in 2025-26, and Japanese investment in India rose to 3.2 billion US dollars between April and December 2025. Japan is among India's largest investors, backing projects such as the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor and a recent 1.6 billion US dollar deal for a 20 percent stake in an Indian bank.

For India, the partnership strengthens its position in the Indo-Pacific, secures critical technology and minerals, and brings long-term investment. The summit reflects a shared push by like-minded regional players, including India, Japan, Australia and South Korea, to keep the region open and stable amid global uncertainty.