Masato Kanda, Vice Minister of Finance for International Affairs, Japan, and Ajay Seth, Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, held the first India-Japan Finance Dialogue here today.

In view of the growing importance of India-Japan relations in recent years, the dialogue on India-Japan financial cooperation, which had been held at the level of Deputy Director-Generals, was upgraded to the level of Vice Minister/Secretary.

The Japanese delegation included the representatives from Ministry of Finance, Financial Services Agency, and financial institutions. From Indian side, the representatives from Ministry of Finance, Reserve Bank of India, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, and financial institutions participated in the discussion.

The participants exchanged their views on the macroeconomic situation, financial system, financial digitalization and investment environment in both countries, and confirmed that both sides will continue to work closely together as they hold presidency of G20 and G7 next year. The participants including private financial institutions also discussed various financial regulation issues towards further expansion of investment in India.

Both sides agreed to continue discussions for further promoting financial cooperation and strengthening bilateral relations, and agreed to explore holding the next round of the Dialogue in Tokyo.