15 Japanese firms sign MoUs to invest in Gujarat

Gandhinagar: Fifteen Japanese firms signed pacts expressing their intention to invest in Gujarat at the 12th India-Japan Annual Summit here today.

These companies include Moresco, Toyoda Gosei, Topre and Murakami.

On the concluding day of the summit today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe also did remote inauguration of Suzuki Motor Corporation's car manufacturing facility expansion work at Hansalpur village near here.

This facility is Suzuki Motor Corp's first wholly-owned unit in India producing 2,50,000 cars every year. "That will be tripled to 7,50,000 units in the future," announced Abe.

Speaking at the 'India-Japan Business Leaders Forum', Abe said he supports Prime Minister Modi's vision of 'Make in India' and Japan is committed to help the country in this direction.

"Strong Japan is good for India and strong India is good for Japan," Abe said in his speech at the plenary session marking the end of the two-day summit.

On the occasion, both the leaders also performed symbolic ground breaking for an upcoming plant at Hansalpur for the production of lithium-ion car batteries, the first such plant in India.

Both the leaders also inaugurated four 'Japan India Institutes of Manufacturing (JIM)'. One such institute has been set by Maruti Suzuki at Ganpat Vidyanagar in Mehsana.

Speaking at the session, Gujarat Chief Secretary J N Singh informed the audience about the upcoming 'Japan Industrial Township' at Khoraj in Ahmedabad, which is aimed at "facilitating industrial opportunities for the Japanese companies".

Singh said the proposed township will be spread across 1,750 acres, having industrial, commercial, residential and recreational areas.

In his speech, Modi said his dream of seeing a mini-Japan in Gujarat is finally fulfilled.

"When I first visited Japan as Chief Minister of Gujarat, I had said that I want to see a mini-Japan in Gujarat. Today, that dream has come true. I am happy to see so many friends from Japan happily living and doing business in Gujarat," said Modi.

He also thanked Japan and Abe for providing financial assistance for the upcoming Convention Centre at Varanasi, his constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

"You know that the ancient and holy city of Varanasi is my second home. The project of Varanasi Convention Centre is a symbol of cultural co-operation between Kyoto city of Japan and Varanasi. It was conceived by Prime Minister Abe and me when we visited Varanasi together in 2015," he said.

Responding to Abe's comment on India-Japan relations, Modi said that growing convergence between the two countries on strategic and economic issues has the capacity to stimulate the global economy.

"I am confident that strong India and strong Japan will also be a stabilising factor in Asia and the world. In this mutual and global pursuit, I thank Prime Minister Abe and Japan for being a perfect partner," he said.

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