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Addressing a business interaction and luncheon meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister Mr. Koizumi here today, Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, said that India and Japan could easily reach a trade level of US $ 10 billion within three years, given the complementarities of the two economies. Trade between India and Japan had been stagnating at a level of US $ 4 billion annually for the past eight years while trade relations between India and other Asian countries of the region such as China and Korea had shown remarkable growth, he observed.
Shri Kamal Nath reiterated the suggestion that India and Japan should work on a limited agreement on trade in agriculture covering such items of export interest to the two countries that did not adversely affect the interests of their farmers. “The export of India’s agricultural produce to Japan has a great potential. The key point is that these are agricultural products, which do not threaten domestic farmers in Japan. These non-competitive imports, which do not compete with domestic production, include marine products like tuna & shrimp, poultry products, fresh tropical fruits like mangoes & grapes. Market access for such Indian agricultural products in Japan should be a win-win situation for both the countries”, he said. The Minister had mooted the proposal for a limited agreement on agriculture with Japan during his recent visit to Tokyo when he had not only called on the Prime Minister Koizumi, but also had extensive discussions with Foreign Minister Machimura, Agriculture Minister Shimamura, Finance Minister Tanigaki and METI Minister Nakagawa.
Referring to investment, Shri Kamal Nath said: “The actual cumulative inflow of investment from Japan has been less than 2 billion dollars. Japanese investment in India, despite a large number of joint ventures and collaborations is still low. There is a vast potential for higher levels of Japanese investment in India in a variety of sectors like Infrastructure, Telecom, Power and Construction where Japanese businessmen can make use of the growing opportunities in this country. In the changed context where both countries are seeking a new and expanded economic partnership, it is important that we especially emphasise and promote FDI by Japanese firms”.
Recalling his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister in Tokyo a fortnight ago, when Mr. Koizumi described India as “a country of possibilities”, Shri Kamal Nath said “that phrase struck me as deeply incisive and prophetic. It is my ardent desire that we structure our commercial engagement in such a way that for Japan India becomes not only a country of possibilities, but also a ‘country of opportunities’.”
SB/MRS
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