By IANS
New Delhi : Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived here Tuesday with a delegation of 243 top corporate executives to deepen bilateral strategic and economic ties, given India’s hunt for energy security and mega investments.
The Japanese prime minister, accompanied by his wife Akie, was received by Minister of State for Commerce Ashwani Kumar, and headed straight for a meeting with top corporate leaders and leading academics of the two sides.
Representatives of top companies including Toyota Motors Corp, Canon, Honda, Mitsui, Hitachi and other big banner names in global business are accompanying the Japanese prime minister.
During his three-day visit, which will also take him to Kolkata on Thursday, Abe is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and push for an early conclusion of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement.
The two sides are also expected to make progress on Tokyo’s offer for a soft loan for the proposed $90 billion industrial corridor between Mumbai, India’s commercial capital, and the administrative capital New Delhi.
The corridor will span an area of 1,483 km and encompass diverse sectors such as roads, ports, industrial parks and special economic zones. Abe is expected to announce a soft loan of around $250 million for the corridor, officials said.
The two sides will also focus on expanding strategic cooperation on issues like UN reforms, the East Asian Community and the quadrilateral dialogue, comprising India, US, Australia and Japan that held the inaugural meet in Manila in May.
Owing to political opposition in India to the India-US civil nuclear deal, Abe may be cautious while discussing the subject, but may privately offer assurance to the Indian side about Tokyo’s support in the area, diplomatic sources said.
Abe, who will be given a ceremonial welcome by President Pratibha Patil on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan Wednesday morning, will later address a joint session of parliament and interact with business leaders of India and Japan.
In Kolkata, the Japanese prime minister is scheduled to release a book by Rabindranath Tagore titled “Talks in Japan” – a compilation of speeches delivered by the Nobel laureate in Japan.