India-Japan partnership set to drive inclusive growth across Global South

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Japan on August 29 for his first annual summit with PM Shigeru Ishiba to strengthen strategic ties, trade, and technology cooperation. The partnership is expected to benefit Africa and the wider Global South through sustainable growth

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shigeru Ishiba this week, will review the Special Strategic and Global Partnership between India and Japan, including defence and security, trade and economy, technology and innovation, as well as discuss issues of regional and global importance.

The visit, which will reaffirm the longstanding special bond of friendship between the two countries, also comes close on the heels of the Africa summit hosted by Japan last week. With India already playing a key role as a leader of the developing countries, foreign affairs experts see the possibility of the India–Japan partnership, positioning itself as a force for inclusive growth across the developing region and the Global South.

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Japan has already made investments in some infrastructure projects in African countries. “Through such projects, Japan aims to leverage the Indian Ocean as a highway of commerce connecting Africa with India and Japan. The long-term vision is not just about ports and railways but also about embedding Africa into critical mineral supply chains.

A ‘China-plus-one’ strategy is emerging, where Africa provides raw materials, initial processing is undertaken locally to add value, further processing occurs in India, and Japanese industries consume the refined products,” according to an article by retired IFS officer Gurjit Singh published in Outlook.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has just announced an investment of $40 million in India’s Aavishkaar Capital’s Global Supply Chain Support Fund to promote sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia and Africa.

This partnership aims to accelerate the growth of impact-driven companies within agriculture, food processing, and manufacturing supply chains, contributing to the economic development of emerging markets and strengthening Indo-Japanese cooperation. This could serve as a pointer for further investments involving the private sector to develop the Global South.

PM Modi will embark on his journey on August 29, which also marks his first annual summit with PM Ishiba. Ever since PM Modi assumed office in 2014, it will be his eighth visit to the country, which highlights the deep ties between the two nations.

“The visit will reaffirm the longstanding special bond of friendship between the two countries,” the statement added. In the second leg of his visit, at the invitation of China’s President, Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Modi will travel to China from August 31 to September 1 to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin.

On the sidelines of the summit, the Prime Minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders attending the Summit.