India’s Ambassador-designate to Japan, Nagma Mallick, held high-level discussions with former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday, focusing on strengthening the India–Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership and advancing cooperation on issues of shared regional and global importance.

According to a statement posted by the Indian Embassy in Japan, the meeting highlighted ways to deepen bilateral engagement across political, economic, and strategic domains. The dialogue reflected the continuity of close India–Japan relations despite leadership transitions in both countries.

Fumio Kishida, who served as Japan’s Prime Minister from November 2021 to October 2024, played a key role in advancing cooperation with India, particularly in defence, infrastructure, and Indo-Pacific security. His tenure reinforced Japan’s commitment to a rules-based international order and closer alignment with India on regional stability.

India–Japan relations have steadily evolved over the past two decades. The partnership was first elevated to a Global Partnership in 2000, expanded into a Strategic and Global Partnership in 2006, and further upgraded to a Special Strategic and Global Partnership in 2014. Defence and security cooperation remain a central pillar of this relationship, alongside economic collaboration and people-to-people ties.

Earlier on Friday, Ambassador-designate Mallick met with Urakawa Mayor Hiraku Ikeda, thanking the town leadership for its continued support of the Indian community residing in the region. The Indian Embassy noted that local-level cooperation plays an important role in strengthening cultural ties and fostering goodwill between the two nations.

In recent days, Mallick has held a series of meetings with senior Japanese leaders and lawmakers as part of her diplomatic outreach. On Thursday, she met Japan’s Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy, Kiuchi Minoru, where discussions focused on economic cooperation, fiscal coordination, and broader aspects of the bilateral partnership.

She also met Yasutoshi Nishimura, a member of Japan’s House of Representatives and Chairman of the Japan–India Parliamentary Friendship Group. Both leaders discussed parliamentary engagement, shared strategic priorities, and ways to further institutionalize cooperation between lawmakers of the two democracies.

Earlier this week, Mallick called on Fukushiro Nukaga, Speaker of Japan’s House of Representatives, to review the state of bilateral relations and explore avenues for enhancing legislative cooperation and diplomatic coordination.

India–Japan engagement has also continued at the highest political level. On November 23, Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Johannesburg. The leaders discussed expanding cooperation in innovation, defence production, talent mobility, and trade, reaffirming the importance of the partnership for global stability.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar also met Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu in October on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur. The two leaders reviewed progress under the joint vision for India–Japan cooperation over the next decade and agreed to intensify collaboration across strategic and economic sectors.

With shared democratic values and converging interests in the Indo-Pacific, India and Japan continue to view their partnership as a cornerstone of regional peace, economic resilience, and global cooperation.