India, Japan, US agree to strengthen cooperation in 9th trilateral meeting

New Delhi: India, Japan and the United States held the 9th trilateral meeting at Joint Secretary/Director General/Assistant Secretary level in Delhi on Wednesday to hold consultations on regional and global issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

In accordance with the directions received from the respective foreign ministers, who met in New York on September 18, 2017 on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the officials explored practical steps to enhance cooperation in the areas of connectivity and infrastructure development, counter-proliferation, counter-terrorism, maritime security, maritime domain awareness and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

The officials of India, Japan and the US reviewed the outcomes of the trilateral infrastructure working group that met in Washington DC in February and agreed to continue to collaborate to promote increased connectivity in the Indo-Pacific, the MEA added.

The three sides agreed to remain engaged and strengthen cooperation for a free, open, prosperous, peaceful and an inclusive Indo-Pacific region through partnership with countries in the region.