Diplomatic summits are often remembered for major agreements, strategic partnerships and carefully crafted joint statements. However, at the India-Japan Annual Summit in New Delhi on Thursday, it was a warm personal exchange between the two leaders that drew widespread attention.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed his Japanese counterpart, Sanae Takaichi, he introduced her not only as the leader of one of India's closest strategic partners but also as his "younger sister", setting a cordial tone for the high-level summit.
"I welcome Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi, my younger sister, to India for her first visit for the India-Japan Annual Summit. She is the first woman Prime Minister of Japan and a visionary and popular leader," Modi said.
Takaichi responded warmly, thanking Modi for referring to her as his "beautiful younger sister". She said the sentiment reflected the mutual understanding the two leaders had reached during their private discussions.
"Before the larger meeting, we confirmed that we are on the same page and would nurture this relationship as brother and sister," she said, adding that India and Japan should continue building on each other's strengths to become stronger and more prosperous together.
Welcoming Takaichi on her first visit to India as Japan's Prime Minister, Modi described the occasion as the beginning of a "new chapter" in bilateral relations. He praised her as Japan's first woman Prime Minister and said both countries shared a common vision for a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
"Our shared priorities are a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific. Our technology partnership has become an important pillar of our relationship," Modi said, highlighting the increasing importance of cooperation in emerging technologies.
Beyond the cordial exchange, the summit delivered significant outcomes. India and Japan signed their first-ever defence co-development agreement and announced a series of initiatives aimed at further strengthening their Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
The two leaders also held delegation-level talks at Hyderabad House in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and senior officials from both countries.
The summit concluded with the announcement of a landmark defence co-development pact—the first between India and Japan—as well as initiatives to expand cooperation in economic security, strategic technologies, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals and clean energy.
Earlier in the day, Takaichi received a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan. She is on a three-day official visit to India from July 1 to 3 at the invitation of Prime Minister Modi.
