India and Japan on Monday held their second 2+2 dialogue involving their defence and foreign ministry officials to expand security cooperation between the two countries. They also decided to hold a dialogue on cyber security. After the talks in Tokyo External Affairs Spokesperson said in New Delhi that the two sides briefed each other on their respective defence and security policies in the background of each country's security environment. He said, the two delegations also exchanged views on maritime, cyber and outer space security. They agreed to an early meeting of the new India-Japan Cyber Security Dialogue.

In this unique dialogue 2+2 format, the Indian delegation was led by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma, while the Japanese delegation was led by Deputy Foreign Minister Akitaka Saiki and Administrative Vice Defence Minister Hironori Kanazawa.

Mathai also held foreign office consultations which reviewed a wide gamut of bilateral issues, including intensification of trade and investment and closer collaboration on a range of cross-cutting issues like energy, climate change and the global financial crisis.
The talks also firmed up the agenda for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo mid-November. AIR correspondent reports, the 2+2 consultations were envisaged by the action plan to advance security cooperation concluded between the two countries in December 2009. The maiden 2+2 dialogue was held in New Delhi in June 2010. While Japan has been holding similar consultations with the US and Australia, this is India's first 2+2 dialogue with any country and hence is an indication of the growing proximity between both the countries. The first 2 + 2 India-Japan interaction was held in July 2010. Intended to be an annual event, however, the meeting could not be held last year due to scheduling problems. The officials also discussed the agenda and possible deliverables for the Summit-level meeting between Dr. Singh and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda.