By IANS
New Delhi : Twelve major universities of Japan had a dialogue with the top brass of Indian universities, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) here Tuesday to strengthen educational linkages between the two countries.
The meeting, coinciding with the high-profile visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here, was called to identify common research interests and to work towards increasing the volume of faculty and student exchanges by 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 also called for regular interactions among the academia of the two countries.
Abe, who arrived on a three-day visit to India with a 200-plus business team of top corporate leaders and a delegation of senior representatives of Japanese universities, emphasised on greater people-to-people contact.
The relations and contacts between the institutions of higher learning in the two countries must be stepped up, the Japanese prime minister said.
Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar received Abe, who arrived here from Indonesia with his wife Akie.
He 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, hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh and interact with business leaders of the two sides.
He is scheduled to visit Kolkata Thursday.