New Delhi: India and Japan condemned terrorism in all its forms and emphasised the need for global cooperation to fight terror during the meeting of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani, on Monday.

Singh condemned Pakistan’s state policy of cross-border terrorism against India, perpetrated through state and non-state actors, and pointed out that such attacks destabilise regional peace and security. He called for a unified stand against terrorism and the state-sponsored actions that perpetuate it. The Japanese Defence Minister expressed his condolences for the tragic Pahalgam terrorist attack and offered full support to India.

The leaders reviewed the defence and security pillars of the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and reaffirmed their commitment towards strengthening the bilateral ties and contributing towards regional peace.

The Defence Ministers welcomed the growing diversity and frequency of defence exercises and exchanges between the two countries and agreed to increase the scope and complexity of these engagements.

Both sides agreed to enhance industry cooperation, including exploring collaboration in niche domains such as automation, Artificial Intelligence, cyber and space.

India and Japan share a long-term friendship, which has further gained qualitative momentum after the elevation of this collaboration to Special Strategic & Global Partnership in 2014.