Rajnath To Embark On 5-Day Visit To Mongolia, Japan From Monday To Expand India's Defence & Security Ties

The Union Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will join their Japanese counterparts under the framework of  '2+2' foreign and defence ministerial dialogue.

New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a five-day visit to Mongolia and Japan from Monday with an aim to expand India's defence and security ties with the two nations. 

Rajnath Singh will visit Mongolia from September 5 to 7 while his tour of Japan is scheduled to take place from September 8-9.

As per PTI, the '2+2' dialogue is planned for September 8.

The Union Defence Minister and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will join their Japanese counterparts under the framework of  '2+2' foreign and defence ministerial dialogue, PTI reported citing people familiar with the matter.

The dialogue is taking place after more than five months since Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited India for the annual India-Japan summit.

At the summit in New Delhi, Kishida announced an investment target of five trillion Yen (Rs 3,20,000 crore) in India over the next five years.

In the 2+2 dialogue, both sides are expected to deliberate on ways to further expand bilateral cooperation in the areas of defence and security besides taking stock of the developments in the Indo-Pacific, PTI reported citing familiar with the matter.

The Japanese delegation will be headed by Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada at the talks.

The dialogue is scheduled around three weeks ahead of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's state funeral on September 27 in Tokyo.

The '2+2' dialogue with Japan began in 2019 to deepen bilateral security and defence cooperation further and bring greater depth to the special strategic and global partnership between the two countries.

India has the '2+2' ministerial format of dialogue with very few countries including the US, Japan, Australia and Russia. India's defence and security ties with Mongolia are also being enhanced.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to Mongolia in May 2015, bringing a renewed vigour to the ties in diverse areas including defence and security.

During the visit, India announced a USD 1 billion line of credit to Mongolia for infrastructure development and upgraded their ties to the strategic partnership.

Joint India-Mongolia military exercise 'Nomadic Elephant' is held annually.

The last two editions of the exercise were held at Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) in September 2018 and in October 2019 in Himachal Pradesh.

(With Agency Inputs)