By IANS
New Delhi : India and Japan have entered a “new era under their strategic” partnership, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said here Tuesday, calling for early conclusion of a far-reaching economic pact between the two Asian countries.
“Japan and India have entered into a new era under their strategic partnership,” Abe, on a three-day India visit along with 243 top corporate executives, told a business forum meeting here.
“We also hope to conclude an economic partnership agreement of high quality,” he told the forum meeting that included the Japanese corporate leaders and members of India’s top three industry lobbies.
The two sides are seeking to conclude what is called a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that will seek to assist the two sides in realising the true potential of their economic relations.
The corporate executives who have come with Abe are from some of the top companies of Japan like Toyota Motors Corp, Canon, Honda, Mitsui, Hitachi and others big banner names in global business.
The Japanese prime minister, accompanied by his wife Akie, was earlier received by Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar at the Air Force Station here, and headed straight for the meetings with the corporate leaders and leading academics of the two sides.
Abe also launched with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh an India-Japan Business Leaders Forum to give meaning and substance to the joint vision the two sides have set eyes on for a unique economic engagement.
“At the end of the day, it is business leaders like you who will give meaning and substance to our joint vision of a unique economic engagement between India and Japan,” Manmohan Singh told the business delegation from Japan.
Recollecting his visit to Tokyo last December, Manmohan Singh said he and Prime Minister Abe had decided that, “the time had come for our two countries to raise our ties to the level of a global and strategic partnership”.
“I sincerely believe that such an engagement, between Asia’s largest democracy and its most developed country, will create an arc of advantage and prosperity through out Asia,” Manmohan Singh added.
“The Japanese automobile industries like Toyota, Honda and Suzuki have located parts of their global production chains in India. We need more such models and examples of mutually beneficial collaboration in other sectors,” Manmohan Singh said.
For far too long, he said, the economic engagement between India and Japan has lagged behind their political ties and that an opportune time had come to make up for lost time.
Abe also kicked off a dialogue between the top brass of 12 major Japanese universities and the chiefs of Indian universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to strengthen educational linkages between the two sides.
Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh, who attended the event along with Abe, sought Tokyo’s assistance towards setting up a new IIT in India. He called for regular interactions among the academia of the two countries.
Later, at a reception hosted for the business delegation from Japan, India’s Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said that every effort would be made to speed up the conclusion of the economic partnership agreement.
Both sides said Japan, the fifth largest foreign investor in India with a net inflow of $2.58 billion since 1991, must capitalise on the opportunities available for such investment, especially in infrastructure sector.
Even in terms of bilateral trade Indian exports to Japan stood at a mere $2.8 billion and imports amounted to $4.56 billion.
“The dialogue is on the fast track and we expect to have the agreement in place by the designated time,” Kamal Nath said, addressing a large gathering at the Oberoi Intercontinental hotel here.
Pointing out the strategic importance of the engagement of business leaders from both sides, the minister said the two governments would require their active participation to make bilateral economic ties successful.
“It is your support and dynamism that will propel the economic relations of India and Japan.”
Fujio Mitarai, who is leading the Japanese business delegation, expressed optimism at the growing Indo-Japan economic relations and said he looked forward to a meaningful business engagement with Indian counterparts.
Abe will be given a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday after which he is scheduled to address a joint session of parliament and hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.
He is scheduled to interact with business leaders of the two sides and visit Kolkata Thursday.