7th India-Japan Joint Working Group Meeting on Forests held at Bengaluru

The 7th Meeting of the India-Japan Joint Working Group (JWG) on cooperation in the field of forests took place in Bengaluru on 8th September 2026. The meeting brought together the Indian delegation led by Shri Ramesh Kumar Pandey, Additional Director General (Forests), MoEFCC, and the Japanese delegation led by Mr. Shimizu Kotaro from Japan's Forestry Agency. Discussions centered on Trees Outside Forests (TOFs), Forest Genetics, and Forest Stack. Both nations endorsed the Roadmap for 2027–2031 under the 2015 Memorandum of Cooperation, signed the Minutes of the 7th JWG, and planned field visits to the Institute of Wood Science and Technology, sandalwood agro-forestry farms in Mysuru, and Nagarhole Tiger Reserve.