The 7th Meeting of the India-Japan Joint Working Group on cooperation in the field of forests was held in Bengaluru on September 8, 2026. The Indian delegation was led by Shri Ramesh Kumar Pandey, Additional Director General (Forests) of MoEFCC, while the Japanese delegation was led by Mr. Shimizu Kotaro, Deputy Director General of Japan's Forestry Agency.
The meeting focused on three key areas of cooperation: Tree Outside Forests (TOFs) regarding assessment, management and genetic improvement; Forest Genetics covering genetic resource conservation, tree breeding, and germplasm conservation; and Forest Stack involving forest inventory, stock assessment, and geospatial monitoring technologies.
Both sides endorsed the Roadmap for 2027-2031 under the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in 2015, reaffirming their commitment to deepen cooperation in forests, biodiversity conservation, research and capacity building. The meeting concluded with the signing of the Minutes of the 7th JWG.
As part of the program, delegations visited the Institute of Wood Science and Technology in Bengaluru and interacted with Karnataka Forest Department officials. Further visits were scheduled for September 9th to sandalwood agro-forestry farms, a sandalwood depot and processing unit in Mysuru, followed by a visit to Nagarhole Tiger Reserve on September 10th to exchange experiences on sandalwood cultivation and wildlife conservation practices.