Last Updated on January 17, 2026 11:38 am by INDIAN AWAAZ
India and Japan to convene Joint Working Group on critical minerals
Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
India is keeping a close eye on the prevailing situation in Iran. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India is committed to taking whatever steps are required in the interest of the Indian citizens living in that country.
He said around nine thousand citizens, mostly students, are currently living in Iran. Mr Jaiswal said that in recent days, considering the situation in Iran, MEA has issued few advisories suggesting Indians avoid visiting Iran and also those in Iran are advised to return.
On the Chabahar port, Mr Jaiswal said, on 28 October last year, the US Department of the Treasury had issued a letter outlining the guidance on the conditional sanctions waiver, which is valid till 26th April this year. He said India remains engaged with the US side in working out this arrangement.
Regarding defence cooperation with Japan, Mr Jaiswal said, defence cooperation is an important element of India-Japan collaboration and this was a matter that was discussed between the two leaders, the External Affairs Minister and the Foreign Minister of Japan, today.’
He said India is looking forward to further strengthening the ties and several projects are under consideration. The Spokesperson said, Japan’s Foreign Minister is on a three-day visit to India. He said the visiting dignitary paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister and later, along with the External Affairs Minister, participated in the 18th India-Japan Strategic Dialogue. During the discussions, both leaders reviewed the multifaceted bilateral relationship, covering supply chain resilience in critical sectors, investment, trade, technology, innovation, defence, people-to-people exchanges and cultural ties.
MEA added that under the Economic Security Initiative, India and Japan will convene the private sector dialogue to enhance public-private cooperation in the field of economic security. In order to give a coherent push to the engagement in AI, both sides launched the AI Dialogue to be led by the Foreign Ministries. Besides, in order to advance cooperation in rare earth elements and critical minerals, both sides decided to convene the Joint Working Group on Critical Minerals in early 2026 which is a new initiative.
Regarding Myanmar polls, the MEA spokesperson said, India expects that there should be inclusive and fair elections in which all stakeholders participate.