Ex-Japan PM Suga leads trade delegation to India, meets PM Modi amid 5 trillion yen target by 2027
NEW DELHI: Japan's former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga is leading a 100-member trade delegation to India to look at ways to boost investments in the country to reach their target of 5 trillion yen by 2027.
He met Prime Minister Modi along with the Ganesha group of Japanese MPs and Keidanren (Japanese Business Federation) CEOs.
"We had an engaging discussion on deepening our Special Strategic and Global Partnership in different areas, including Parliamentary exchanges, investment, economic ties, people to people links tourism and skill development," said PM Modi.
Suga expressed optimism of enhanced investment in India as it is now the world’s fifth largest economy and is growing rapidly at a rate of 7.2 per cent.
"In Japan, the public and private sectors are in complete agreement on the importance of strengthening relations with India. Last year, the government of Japan had set a target of investing Yen 5 trillion in India over the next five years. I have witnessed India’s liveliness and was able to feel the momentum of the Indian economy," said Suga who is also the President of the Japan-India Association.
India is upbeat about its growing partnership with Japan. "As India embarks of its next phase of economic growth, improvement in agriculture productivity will be a key aspect and use of technology can provide the necessary breakthrough. Japan is a leading country in many areas of agriculture including precision farming, seed R&D, introduction of new molecules for crop protection, drones etc. This is a win-win opportunity for Japanese companies to tap the vast Indian market by introducing cutting edge products and services tailored for the Indian farmers," Ajay S Shriram, CMD of DCM Shriram, told The New Indian Express.
Japan is a key global investor and player in supply chains, which are central to reshaping the future of global trade. India also plays an important part in this segment.
"The 5 trillion yen target can not just be achieved but also exceeded. One way of doing this would be through introducing mutual recognition agreements across various sectors in both countries and focus on resilient supply chains," Bharat Joshi, Director Associated Container Terminals Limited (ACTL), told The New Indian Express.
Meanwhile, Suga is optimistic that strengthening economic ties and people to people exchanges with India will benefit both countries.
With robust trade ties between the two nations, the investment target will surely be achieved. Bilateral trade between the two nations was $20.57 billion in 2021-22.