Japan lays strong emphasis on strengthening trade ties with India

The Dollar Business Bureau

Japan on Thursday laid strong emphasis on varied avenues of the bilateral trade between India and Japan.

“The two Prime Ministers resolved to transform the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership into a deep, broad-based and action-oriented one reflecting a broad convergence of their long-term political, economic and strategic goals,” said Masayuki Taga, Consul General of Japan in Kolkata.

“This has indicated a broad convergence of long standing economic, political and strategic objectives between the two nations,” Taga said while addressing a session, organised by the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce.

The Diplomat said that this is evident that the relations between Japan and India have significantly improved and strengthened in almost all the fields. Due to this, Japan has now emerged as the third biggest foreign direct investment (FDI) facilitator for India

Frequent ministerial level exchanges between the two governments clearly shows India’s increasing importance for Tokyo and vice versa, Taga said.

In November last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited Japan and had held a summit meeting with his counterpart Shinzo Abe.

Referring to the summit meeting, Taga said the meeting substantially improved the “new era in Japan-India relations.” He expressed hope that the two nations will lead to stability and prosperity in Indo-Pacific region as an outcome of India’s Act East policy.

The Diplomat discussed the significance of a joint statement - “Japan and India Vision 2025 Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World,” which will act as a guide for new era in India-Japan ties.

Speaking at the session, Dinesh Jain, President, Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, said that the relations between India and Japan has now enhanced to an broad range of areas including defence, foreign policy, science and technology, trade and investment, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts.

India is a key beneficiary of Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA) and the country has attracted substantial investment from Japan.

The number of companies from Japan operating in India rose to 1,229 in 2016 from 627 in 2009, indicating a substantial diversification and robust economic relationship, he added.