Indian Economy News

Japanese companies are trying to strengthen their partnership with India: Former Prime Minister Mr. Yoshihide Suga

According to former Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Yoshihide Suga, both the public and business sectors in Japan are fully in favour of increasing cooperation and involvement with India. After meeting with Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, he stated during an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) that they would like to strengthen relations with India, and they have established an objective of investing US$ 35 billion (5 trillion yen) in India in the next five years.

Prime Minister Mr. Yoshihide Suga is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day to discuss bilateral economic cooperation, seeking to spur greater inroads in the fast-growing economy by Japanese companies. He is the Chairman of the Japan-India Association and is travelling with 101 business leaders from 54 companies in finance, airlines, construction, energy, and information technology.

The President of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Mr. R. Dinesh stated that innovation and technology hold the key to the future collaboration of Japan and India. He mentioned that joint research and development (R&D) initiatives can unleash immense potential and drive both our economies to new heights. The focus should be on sectors including infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, digital, and clean energy will be crucial for shaping the future together and for meeting investment targets.

The economic ties between Japan and India have been gradually growing and deepening in recent years. Trade between the two nations has grown in scope. In 2021, India was Japan's 13th-largest commercial partner while Japan was India's 18th-largest trading partner. According to a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Japan's direct investment into India has surged, with the nation ranking as the fifth-largest investor in India in FY21.

The statement further mentioned that during 2018-19, bilateral trade between Japan and India reached US$ 17.63 billion. During this time, Japan imported US$ 4.86 billion from India while exporting US$ 12.77 billion. For the fiscal year 2019-20 (April–December), the two countries' bilateral commerce reached a total of US$ 11.87 billion. India imported US$ 7.93 billion in goods from Japan, compared to US$ 3.94 billion in exports to Japan.

Petroleum products, chemicals, elements, compounds, non-metallic mineral ware, fish and fish preparations, metalliferous ores and scrap, clothes and accessories, iron and steel products, textile yarn, textiles, and machinery are among India's main exports to Japan. Machines, electrical machinery, iron and steel products, plastics, non-ferrous metals, automobile parts, organic chemicals, and metal goods are India's main imports from Japan.

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