Nagma M Mallick, newly appointed ambassador of India to Japan. (Photo courtesy of Embassy of India)
As geopolitics hardens and economic security climbs the diplomatic priorities, India has taken on a sharper global profile. Long a dominant powerhouse in South Asia and home to more than 1.45 billion people, the country is increasingly shaping strategic calculations well beyond its neighborhood.
For Japan, this evolution is anything but abstract. Bound to India through the Quad, and with a deepening multifaceted relationship, New Delhi has become Tokyo's indispensable friend in the Indo-Pacific.
Against this backdrop, Japan welcomed a new Indian ambassador in November 2025 — at a moment when bilateral ties are no longer merely warm, but pivotal.
In an exclusive interview, Ambassador Nagma Mohamed Mallick described Japan and India as natural partners anchored in shared values, noting that the relationship has developed into one that is "broad, comprehensive, and strategic." A keen admirer of Japanese philosophy and literature, she said she hopes to deepen people-to-people ties during her tenure.
Ambassador Mallick joined the service in 1991, beginning her diplomatic career in Paris. She served as India's ambassador to Tunisia from October 2012 to 2015, and later as ambassador to Poland from 2021 until November 2025, before assuming her current post.
Excerpts of the interview follow.
As you begin your tenure, which aspects of Japan–India relations do you feel have been underdeveloped or underestimated, and which of these do you hope to advance during your term?
We need to look no further than the India-Japan Joint Vision for the Next Decade, brought out during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan in August 2025.
There are eight pillars identified under this Joint Vision to advance our cooperation, and each of them has tremendous potential. Be it our economic partnership, economic security cooperation, what we can do in the mobility sector, for the environment, or in the health sector, the possibilities are endless.
Cooperation in futuristic technologies is another interesting area. I would also be keen to see our people-to-people cooperation grow for our mutual benefit and see deeper exchanges between our small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
As geopolitical competition among major powers intensifies, how do you envision cooperation between Japan and India, both within the Quad framework and beyond?
We are described as natural partners precisely because of what we share: our shared values of democracy, freedom, and respect for the rule of law make us partners in promoting peace, prosperity, and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.
Our partnership is a key element of India's Act East Policy, and it is pivotal to our Indo-Pacific vision, which aligns with Japan's vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).
We attach the highest priority to working with Japan in international forums, including the Quad, the United Nations, G4 membership, and the G20. The India-Japan partnership is a force for good in the world. In the current global situation, it's important that we work together towards our shared goals.
Japan has long been a major partner in India's infrastructure development. Looking ahead, how can cooperation evolve to support India's manufacturing ambitions while also strengthening supply-chain resilience?
India and Japan have set a target of ¥10 trillion JPY ($68 billion) of private investment in India in our Joint Vision for the Next Decade. This is building upon the progress made in the 2022-2026 target of ¥5 trillion ($34 billion) of public and private investment and financing from Japan to India. The Indian economy and the large-scale Indian market make a strong case for scaling up investments as well.
The Indian economy continues to grow from strength to strength, buoyed by the deep and sustained structural reforms undertaken over the past decade. And we are making strong strides in the manufacturing sector. The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme launched by the Government of India across 14 priority sectors, with total incentives of about $26 billion USD (¥4.05 trillion), is attracting investment into the manufacturing sector. Japanese companies are already taking note of this and exploring the opportunities that India provides.
The 11 Industrial Corridors that India is developing with plug-and-play infrastructure, multimodal connectivity, and global manufacturing standards present immediate opportunities for Japanese companies in industrial machinery, construction equipment, electronics, chemicals, logistics, and smart manufacturing solutions.
Japanese investment in India is sure to be a win-win for both our countries. India provides scale, the skills, and a predictable environment, helping Japanese companies diversify successfully and build resilience.
As technology becomes increasingly central to national competitiveness and security, where do you see the most promising areas for Japan–India collaboration?
"Technology and Innovation" is an important pillar of our Joint Vision for the Next Decade. As part of this effort to build a next-generation technology and innovation partnership, we are looking at ways to tap into each other's scientific and technological capabilities, institutions, and manpower to promote frontier research in foundational sciences and cross-sector collaboration for advancing the commercialisation of new technologies.
Most immediately, India is organizing the AI Impact Summit in February 2026 with the motto, "Welfare for All & Happiness for All." We have consistently emphasised that technology must be democratized, both in usage and in development. It should not be confined to a few companies, individuals, or even nations. Every section of society must benefit from it.
We have shared our thoughts on how we visualize AI with Japan, the co-chair of the AI Impact Summit Working Group on "Safe & Trusted AI." We look forward to the outputs of this working group, which is about building globally trusted AI systems anchored in transparency, accountability, and shared safeguards for innovation.
At a bilateral level, we had announced the Japan-India AI Initiative (JAI) during the Annual Summit last year. The recently announced India-Japan Strategic AI Dialogue flows from this initiative. This dialogue will promote strategic bilateral collaboration in AI through joint research, promotion of initiatives between universities and companies, collaboration on the development of large language models (LLMs), and cooperation toward fostering a trustworthy AI ecosystem.
Strategic partnerships ultimately rest on human connections. What steps do you believe are most necessary to deepen people-to-people ties, particularly among younger generations and professionals?
There is an understanding at the highest level to foster deeper people-to-people cooperation between our two countries, to co-create value and address our respective national priorities.
The Action Plan for Japan-India Human Resource Exchange and Cooperation, agreed to between India and Japan during Prime Minister Modi's visit to Japan in August 2025, plans for the two-way exchange of 500,000 personnel in 5 Years, including 50,000 skilled personnel from India to Japan. Achieving this would not only be mutually beneficial but also have value beyond economics.
We are also strengthening points of contact between Japanese companies and Indian students and promoting joint research and value creation in both countries. Programs like LOTUS (India-Japan Circulation of Talented Youths in Science Programme) and Mirai-Setu are connecting and creating long-term exchanges between our young minds. We are working at the G2G level, G2B level, and B2B level to promote these programs.
In addition, faster mutual recognition of qualifications, especially in nursing, caregiving, and technical trades, would unlock a much larger pool of immediately deployable professionals. Deeper prefecture-state cooperation and institutional partnerships can also help build structured hiring and training pipelines that are mutually beneficial and based on concrete demands.
From your perspective, what lessons can Japan and India draw from each other's experiences as they deepen their partnership?
In 2027, we will celebrate 75 years of our diplomatic relations. The India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership today is multifaceted, covering all possible sectors. We have worked together meticulously to transform the relationship from what was primarily an economic relationship into one that is broad, comprehensive, and strategic in its focus.
Not only this, the grounds for the emergence of the Indo-Pacific as a political, economic, and strategic construct were laid in an address to the Indian Parliament by a Japanese Prime Minister.
And today, we continue to find convergences as we look to securing our economies and building resilience. There is much to gain by deepening our partnership, sharing our perspectives, and building on our strong foundation.
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Author: Kenji Yoshida
