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Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, called on the Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, at his residence in Tokyo this morning and had a very cordial meeting with the Japanese Prime Minister which lasted about 40 minutes.
Shri Nath said the purpose of his visit to Japan at the head of a large Indian business delegation was to apprise Japanese business community of the tremendous economic progress made by India in the last decade and a half. In this context, he urged the Japanese government for supportive signals to promote inflows of Japanese investment into India. He also proposed a limited agreement on agriculture between the two countries covering products of export interest as means of reversing the continuing stagnating trend in India's trade with Japan and boosting two-way trade on a mutually beneficial basis, especially India's agro exports to Japan He said India and Japan could be the major drivers of economic development in the Asian region. The two countries should also work together in the World Trade Organisation (WTO), he said.
Mr. Koizumi said the time was now right to push Indo-Japan bilateral trade. Describing India as a country of immense possibilities, the Japanese Prime Minister said he was looking forward to his forthcoming visit to Japan later this month. He observed that as two major economic powers Japan and India could contribute significantly to the trade and economic development of Asia. Mr. Koizumi also referred to the issue of the United Nations Security Council, saying that both Japan and India should be permanent members of the UNSC.
SB/MRS
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