New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said that India and Japan have set a new target of 5 trillion yen or Rs 3, 20,000 crore investment by Japan in the next five years for major infrastructure projects in India.
In his media statement, after holding talks with visiting Japanese PM Fumio Kishida, he said that the earlier target set in 2014 of 3.5 trillion yen investment has been crossed. “And we have decided to take forward our ambitions even further and set a new target of 5 trillion yen or Rs 3 lakh 20,000 crore in the next five years,” he said.
PM Modi said the India-Japan economic partnership has witnessed unprecedented growth in the last several years. “The businesses of both sides share a lot of trust and enthusiasm. Japan is India’s major and trusted partner,” he said.
He also praised Japan’s support to the country’s flagship projects like the dedicated freight corridor and the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail. “We are very grateful for this support,” he said.
PM Modi said there has been good progress in the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project and both countries are working on it as “one team, one project”. “This project is an outstanding example of India-Japan partnership,” he added.
“India has taken major steps in economic reforms and ease of doing business. Today India presents immense opportunities for Make in India for the World. In this context, Japanese companies have been our brand ambassadors for a long time,” he added.
He said the two countries are set to forge new partnership in the field of technology and innovation. “We are committed to providing a friendly atmosphere for the Japanese companies in India. The launch of the India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership Roadmap will be a useful mechanism for this,” he said.
He said the skills partnership between the two will also play a useful role in this aspect. “India and Japan both understand the importance of secure, trusted, predictable and stable energy supply.
“Our Clean Energy Partnership will prove a decisive step to achieve the targets of sustainable economic growth and to deal with climate change which is very necessary,” he added. He said PM Kishida’s visit has been successful in adding new dimensions to the bilateral special strategic global partnership.
Earlier in his speech, he said that PM Kishida has been an old friend of India. “As foreign minister he has visited India several times and I have had the opportunity to exchange views with him.” He said that PM Kishida has played a very significant role in the unprecedented growth witnessed in the India-Japan special strategic global partnership over the past several years.
“Our summit is taking place at a very significant moment, as the world is still in the grips of covid 19 and its after effects; there are still hurdles in the path to global economic recovery, geopolitical happenings are presenting new challenges.
“In this context strengthening and deepening the India-Japan partnership is not just beneficial for both our countries but at the global level it will help give a fillip to peace, prosperity and stability,” he said.
He said the mutual trust and civilizational ties between the two nations, and their shared values of democracy, freedom and rule of law are at the core of the bilateral relationship and give strength to it.
He said that today’s talks have helped firm up the direction to take the bilateral ties to new heights. “Besides bilateral matters, we also discussed regional and international issues of mutual interest and have agreed to intensify cooperation at the UN and other international fora.”
