Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s visit to India in early July 2026 highlights an important development that often remains underestimated in Europe: the rapid strengthening of the partnership between Asia’s two leading democracies, Japan and India.
The 16th Annual India–Japan Summit, held in New Delhi, confirmed a relationship that is already robust but is now increasingly focused on long-term strategic and industrial priorities.
The two countries announced a significant expansion of their cooperation across several key sectors: semiconductors and advanced technologies, artificial intelligence, critical minerals and resilient supply chains, clean energy, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, as well as maritime security and defence.
Their shared objective is to enhance economic resilience in the face of mounting geopolitical tensions and excessive dependencies within global value chains.
Economic ties between India and Japan are already well established. Around 1,400 Japanese companies currently operate in India, while bilateral trade reached approximately US$27.5 billion during the 2025–2026 fiscal year.
Japan also remains one of India’s leading infrastructure investors, with major commitments in transportation, energy and urban development projects.
This summit should also be viewed within the broader context of the Indo-Pacific’s emergence as one of the world’s principal economic centres of gravity in the twenty-first century. India is actively diversifying its technological and industrial partnerships, while Japan is strengthening its strategy to secure supply chains and deepen cooperation with high-potential emerging economies.
For Europe—and France in particular—this evolution serves above all as an invitation to deepen engagement with these two indispensable partners. France enjoys strong and longstanding relations with both India and Japan and has pursued the same Indo-Pacific vision since Emmanuel Macron entered the Élysée Palace.
India, Japan and France: the contours of a multilateral strategic axis dedicated to a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific are steadily taking shape.
Michel Taube
