Japan plans to increase investments in India

New Delhi: Mr Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister plans to tell Mr Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister that Japan aims to double its investment in India in the next five years from around US$ 2 billion last year, according to the Nikkei business daily.

Mr Narendra Modi, who was on his first major foreign visit, arrived on August 30, 2014, for a five-day trip aimed at capitalising on a personal affinity with his Japanese counterpart to bolster security and business ties.

The Nikkei also reported that the two leaders are also likely to agree to speed up talks on a nuclear energy pact.

Upon arriving in Japan, Mr Narendra Modi agreed to meet for an informal dinner on Saturday with his Japanese counterpart at Kyoto. Mr Shinzo Abe follows Mr Narendra Modi on twitter while the Indian leader admires the former’s brand of nationalist politics.

The agenda of the meeting would also include a proposal to formalise a ‘two-plus-two’ format for talks which would bring together the external affairs and defence ministries of the two countries. The Indian navy also might purchase an amphibious aircraft from Japan. Also, in the field of defence, India and Japan are likely to hold regular joint training exercises which shall also involve the US.

India, Asia’s third-largest economy after China and Japan, needs faster economic growth to create work for the one million young people who enter the workforce every month.

In an answer to Japan’s bullet-trains, Mr Narendra Modi has taken some early steps such as allowing foreign investors to own 100 per cent of railway projects. He is also planning to bring in investments from Japan to construct the ambitious industrial corridor between Delhi and Mumbai. Although India presently accounts for only 1.2 per cent of Japan’s total outward foreign direct investment (FDI), Japanese companies such Honda Motor Co, Sony Corp, Toyota Motor Corp and Suzuki Co Ltd have already become household names in India.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.