India, Japan launch inaugural AI dialogue to shape next decade

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], April 22 : Marking a pivotal shift in Asian technological diplomacy, India and Japan convened the first-ever India-Japan Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategic Dialogue in Mumbai on Tuesday.
The high-level meeting sets the stage for a decade of "co-creation," aiming to merge India's massive talent pool and digital public infrastructure with Japan's advanced industrial expertise and hardware precision.
As per MEA's press release, the meeting was co-chaired by Amit A Shukla, Joint Secretary (Cyber Diplomacy) in the Ministry of External Affairs of India, and Hanada Takahiro, Deputy Assistant Minister for Cyber Security at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Both sides used the platform to deliberate on expanding strategic collaboration across the full spectrum of artificial intelligence technologies, commonly referred to as the AI stack.
The dialogue is the direct result of the India-Japan AI Cooperation Initiative established by Prime Ministers Narendra Modi and Fumio Kishida during their 2025 summit. It positions AI as a "central pillar" of the bilateral vision for the next ten years.
The AI Strategic Dialogue advances the India-Japan AI Cooperation Initiative, announced by the Prime Ministers of India and Japan during the visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to Japan in August 2025. Cooperation in this field constitutes a central pillar of the India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade, read MEA press release.
The dialogue underscored that neither country seeks to work in isolation. Instead, the focus is on policy convergence, ensuring that the rules governing AI in both nations are compatible to foster seamless cross-border innovation.
"Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to jointly navigate the challenges and opportunities over the next decade... to bring our countries and peoples of the next generation closer together than ever before," added the release.
The discussions focused on a full-spectrum approach to AI, moving beyond simple software toward deep industrial integration.
" Both sides engaged in substantive discussions on strategic cooperation across the entire AI stack, with a view to promoting co-creation, enhancing policy convergence, and encouraging the development of AI solutions in industrial domains to foster a robust, innovative and trustworthy AI ecosystem. The Dialogue also explored avenues to strengthen international mobility of AI talent and expand joint research through exchanges and collaborative projects. Furthermore, both sides deliberated on international cooperation in AI governance, policy formulation, and engagement in multilateral fora," added the release.
As the Dialogue concludes, both nations have committed to expanding joint research through academic exchanges and collaborative projects. By combining India's scale with Japan's reliability, the partnership aims to not only meet domestic development goals but also to set a global benchmark for Human-Centric AI.