India, Japan to work together to strengthen energy security

Meeting against the backdrop of the global energy crisis following the war in West Asia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese Prime Minister TAKAICHI Sanae on Thursday expressed their shared commitment to work together as responsible powers and major energy-consuming countries in Asia to jointly strengthen energy security.

The two leaders highlighted the importance of regional initiatives to strengthen energy resilience, such as India’s support for energy security in South Asia and Japan’s Partnership on Wide Energy and Resources Resilience (POWERR Asia).

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Based on the leaders’ discussions, the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of India and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan will cooperate on the following concrete initiatives:

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of sharing their respective knowledge and experience, and, where appropriate, promoting concrete cooperation related to stockpiling systems and reserve mechanisms for crude oil and petroleum products.

The cooperation will focus on the following themes, among others: Mechanisms related to national stockpiling systems and reserves, including industry stockpiles; Coordination regarding arrangements with producing countries; and Emergency response and market stabilisation.

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of cooperation to address shared challenges of energy availability and affordability through supply assurance, enhanced resilience, and mechanisms to mitigate volatility, thereby strengthening the voice of oil and gas-consuming countries.

The cooperation will focus on themes such as information-sharing on market trends and joint efforts for market stabilisation; exploring engagements for energy supplies from third countries; and exploring commercial engagements for investments in the upstream sector in third countries.

The two sides reaffirmed the importance of resilient, self-reliant, and efficient maritime transport of oil and gas as a critical pillar of energy security for both countries. Also, the two sides concurred in exploring collaborative opportunities, including joint investments, across the maritime energy transport value chain.

They confirmed their intention to promote institutional collaboration among relevant stakeholders to deepen comprehensive cooperation in the energy sector, including technical and financial cooperation.