India-Japan Energy Resilience Partnership Agreement
On July 2, 2026, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae of Japan met in New Delhi and signed a joint statement between the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas of India and the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan to strengthen energy resilience in response to the current geopolitical situation. Both countries, as major energy-consuming nations in Asia, committed to working together through several concrete initiatives aimed at enhancing energy security and market stability.
The partnership encompasses five key areas of cooperation. First, both sides will collaborate on strategic stockpiling ecosystems, sharing knowledge and experience regarding national stockpiling systems and reserve mechanisms for crude oil and petroleum products, including industry stockpiles, coordination with producing countries, and emergency response and market stabilization mechanisms.
Second, the agreement focuses on strengthening the voice of energy-consuming countries through cooperation on information-sharing about market trends, joint efforts for market stabilization, exploring engagements for energy supplies from third countries, and examining commercial engagements for investments in the upstream sector in third countries to address shared challenges of energy availability and affordability.
Third, the partnership includes cooperation in energy transport, with both countries recognizing the importance of resilient, self-reliant, and efficient maritime transport of oil and gas as critical to energy security. They agreed to explore collaborative opportunities including joint investments across the maritime energy transport value chain.
Fourth, institutional collaboration will be promoted between relevant stakeholders including Indian National Oil Companies, Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Limited (ISPRL), Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC), and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), along with other relevant stakeholders for comprehensive technical and financial cooperation in the energy sector.
Fifth, both sides established a platform for dialogue through the India-Japan Joint Working Group on Petroleum and Natural Gas under the India-Japan Energy Dialogue framework. This platform will facilitate sharing of up-to-date knowledge and experience while exploring mutually beneficial cooperation opportunities in the identified priority areas.