India and Japan on Thursday rolled out an ambitious roadmap for cooperation in artificial intelligence, spanning governance and cybersecurity to chip supply chains and talent mobility, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Takaichi Sanae used a bilateral summit to deepen ties in a technology both leaders described as reshaping the global order.
The joint statement, issued in the capital, frames AI as a defining technology whose governance choices today will shape economic security and international power balances for decades. New Delhi and Tokyo agreed to align their cooperation with India’s MAHASAGAR outreach initiative and Japan’s revamped Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy, positioning the partnership as part of a broader push to build resilient, growth-oriented economic networks across the region and the wider Global South.
Background
The statement builds on the “Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative,” under which the two countries held their first AI Strategic Dialogue in April 2026. It also comes weeks after India hosted the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, whose outcomes including a governance guidance note co-chaired by Japan and a “New Delhi Declaration” championing the idea of “AI for All” feature prominently across the new agreement. Tokyo, for its part, has been promoting its Hiroshima AI Process since 2023 as a template for international rules on advanced AI systems, and the new statement commits both sides to keep pushing that framework through the G20, the OECD, the Global Partnership on AI and the United Nations.
Governance, Cybersecurity And Children’s Safety
On rules for AI, the two leaders backed an approach that is risk-based, participatory and adaptable rather than one-size-fits-all, while respecting each country’s own laws and priorities. They also flagged the double-edged nature of advanced AI’s cyber capabilities useful for defense, but risky if misused and agreed to tighten cooperation on securing AI systems and critical infrastructure. A notable addition is an explicit commitment to child safety, with both governments pledging that AI systems be designed and governed so they support children’s learning rather than expose them to harm.
Chips, Data Centers And Joint Research
A major plank of the pact is economic-security cooperation across the AI supply chain from GPUs and data centers to semiconductors with New Delhi and Tokyo agreeing to jointly map vulnerabilities and opportunities in the technology stack. This dovetails with an initiative to strengthen digital connectivity corridors under Japan’s Indo-Pacific strategy. The two countries also committed to building out efficient, energy-conscious AI infrastructure, an increasingly urgent concern as data centers strain power grids worldwide.
Several institutional tie-ups were announced alongside the statement, including research partnerships between IIT Bombay, the BharatGen Technology Foundation and Japan’s National Institute of Informatics to develop large language models; a collaboration between Indian AI firm Sarvam and Japan’s Preferred Networks; and a cooperation pact between India AI and Japan’s trade ministry to support AI companies in both countries.
Talent Mobility
On human capital, the two sides reaffirmed an earlier target set at a Foreign Ministers’ dialogue in January 2026 of bringing 500 highly skilled Indian AI professionals to Japan by 2030 through research placements, internships and jobs, while encouraging Japanese firms to expand AI research and development footprints in India.
Tokyo To Host Next Global AI Summit
In a symbolic capstone to the visit, PM Modi endorsed Takaichi’s announcement that Japan will host a global AI summit “at the earliest opportunity,” positioning Tokyo as the next venue in a rotating series of high-profile international gatherings on AI policy that began with Britain’s Bletchley Park summit and has since included stops in Seoul, Paris and New Delhi.
The statement is likely to be read in Washington and Beijing as a further sign that middle powers in the Indo-Pacific are moving to knit together their own AI governance and supply-chain arrangements even as great-power competition over the technology intensifies.
