The first meeting of the India-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) was held in 2019

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will pay an official visit to Japan for the second India-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Meeting, starting on Wednesday.

The Ministers will also hold the Defence Ministerial Meeting and Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with their counterparts, Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi respectively, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said announcing the visit on Tuesday.

"India -Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership is based on shared values of democracy, freedom and respect for rule of law. During the visit, the two sides will further explore new initiatives to strengthen the partnership," the MEA pointed out.

This will be the second such meeting between the two countries. The inaugural meeting of the India-Japan Foreign and Defence Ministerial Dialogue (2+2) was held on November 30, 2019, in New Delhi.

On May 24 this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida had held bilateral talks on the sidelines of the 2nd in-person Quad Leaders' Meeting in Tokyo.

During this meeting, the two leaders had agreed to further enhance bilateral security and defence cooperation, including in the area of defence manufacturing.

The 14th India-Japan Annual Summit, attended by the Indian and Japanese Prime Ministers, was also held earlier this year in New Delhi.