By IANS,
Tokyo : India and Japan must work to evolve a global consensus to stabilise the international financial system and build strong ties in civilian nuclear energy, an apex industry chamber said Tuesday, as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh begins his three-day official visit here.
From civilian space ties where India will begin its first moon mission Wednesday to maritime and homeland security, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) says India and Japan have much to gain by deepening their cooperation.
Ahead of the bilateral visit, the chamber, along with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), an economic think tank, organised a roundtable in New Delhi and came up with several recommendations.
Indian, Japanese and US experts at the roundtable urged Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Taro Aso to deepen India-Japan ties and take leadership in stabilising the global economic system and building a robust Asian security order.
The co-chairs of the roundtable were Tarun Das, chief mentor of CII, Richard Armitage, president of Armitage International, and economist Yoshiyuki Kasai, chairman and representative director of Central Japan Railway.
“The group welcomed negotiations between India and Japan for the enhanced economic partnership agreement and urged their early conclusion,” said a statement issued Tuesday soon after the Indian prime minister left New Delhi for Japan.
“The group underlined that accelerated economic cooperation between Japan, which is the world’s second largest economy, and India, which is emerging as an important force, will have value beyond their bilateral cooperation and provide much needed depth to Asian economic integration and international economic stability.”
The group, which held similar roundtables in Washington and Tokyo, also called for early talks between the two sides for a bilateral agreement on civil nuclear cooperation that would meet the energy security interests and non-proliferation concerns of both the nations.
“Bilateral civil nuclear cooperation between India and Japan will provide an important bridge between India’s concerns for energy security and development and Japan’s global initiative for addressing the challenges of climate change.”
In India’s immediate neighbourhood, the group urged the two countries to coordinate their efforts to promote peace and national re-construction in Afghanistan, adding they can also work together to encourage greater political cooperation in the region among countries, including Pakistan.
“The group also urges the two leaders to move quickly towards an action plan that will contribute to the collective and cooperative security in the Indian Ocean and the Asia-Pacific region,” the statement said.
“The group urges the two leaders to look beyond exchanges between the two military establishments and explore the prospects for more enduring defence industrial collaboration and potential joint bilateral and multilateral security missions that the two sides can undertake in the near future.”
The CII, meanwhile has also sent a high-level delegation for the business forum meeting on the sidelines of the official-level summit, led by its president K.V. Kamath.
The other members include Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Infosys co-chairman Nandan Nilekani, HDFC chairman Deepak Parikh, Godrej group director J.N. Godrej and Bharat Forge chairman Baba Kalyani.