New Delhi: The first ever Indo-Japan 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is slated for November 30 here ahead of the visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

The focus at the dialogue will be the Indo-Pacific Region and deepening bilateral relations. The two sides are expected to take further the negotiations on the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) as agreed in 2018. This agreement once in place is going to help in enhancing the strategic and defence cooperation between the two countries.

The two countries are already working closely in the Maritime Security Cooperation and besides the deepening level of Ex- Malabar there have been bilateral naval exercises and as well as dialogues and training between the Coast Guards.

Both sides are also working on scheduling the Joint Working Group on Defence Equipment and Technology Cooperation (JWG-DETC) before the top leader of that country visits next month for the 14th annual India-Japan summit.

The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue between the two countries is in addition to existing mechanisms which include the Annual Defence Ministerial Dialogue, Defence Policy Dialogue, the National Security Advisers’ Dialogue, and Staff-level Dialogue of each service.

When Defence Minister Rajnath Singh meets his Japanese counterpart Taro Konowas for the second time later this month, the two leaders will discuss expediting negotiations for acquisition and cross-servicing agreement.

In the last decade, the two countries have made tremendous progress in the defence and security relations, especially after the inking of the India-Japan Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation in 2008.

Prime Minister Modi and Japanese Premier Abe have already met twice this year: first in Osaka on the sidelines of the G20 Summit and then again in Vladivostok, Russia on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.