NEW DELHI: India Inc sees a big leap in Japan’s business interest in India, with the commitment of $35 billion in infrastructure a case in point, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned home on Wednesday after a five-day visit to this East Asian nation.
This optimism, the stakeholders added, got a boost with Modi assuring Japanese investors a ‘red carpet’ instead of ‘red tape’ and even walking the extra mile by announcing a team in his office with two Japanese nominees to fast-track their investment proposals.
On the trade front, the industry saw no difficulty in realising the stated intent of raising the value of annual bilateral merchandise shipments exchanged between the two countries to $50 billion in five years from the current level of $16 billion.
Japan has pledged support for virtually every project Modi has spoken about in his 100 days in office – infrastructure, high-speed trains, smart cities, Ganga rejuvenation, clean energy, skilling and food processing.
This is no loose talk. All this – and more – has been incorporated in the 3,300-word document which emerged after bilateral talks between Modi and his counterpart Shinzo Abe – the Tokyo Declaration.
The big leap in economic ties after Modi’s visit in a situation where bilateral trade declined to $16.3 billion in 2013-2014 as compared to $18.5 billion the year before could not have occurred without a favourable political context. (IANS)
