Delegations from the United States, India and Japan met for the ninth U.S.-Japan-India Track Two Strategic Dialogue in Delhi on March 1-2. The session was organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in collaboration with Aspen Institute India, and the Japan Institute of International Affairs (JIIA) and co-chaired by former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, former CII Chief Mentor Tarun Das, and Yoshiyuki Kasai, Chairman of the Central Japan Railway Company. The delegates met with senior ministers and officials of the Indian government for briefings on foreign affairs, energy and economic development, as well as discussions of the recently established government level U.S.-Japan-India trilateral. The delegates also engaged in candid, off-the-record assessments of political, security, economic and energy issues.

Delegates acknowledged that there have been both positive developments and new challenges in the bilateral relationships of all three countries, but reaffirmed that each has invested in relations with the other for longer term strategic objectives and not just immediate transactional returns on specific economic or security issues. Indeed, all three nations share strong common interests in an open and secure Indo-Pacific maritime domain; in the emergence of an inclusive and integrated Asia-Pacific economic architecture; in stability and development in Afghanistan; in the development of safe and secure energy resources, including nuclear power; in countering terrorism and proliferation challenges, particularly those emanating from Iran and North Korea; and in continuing support for the adoption of democratic norms internationally. At a fundamental, Japan and the United States benefit from a strong and prosperous India, India and the United States from a strong and prosperous Japan, and both Japan and India from continued American leadership in the international system.