The 6th India-Japan Intellectual Conclave has brought together the thinking minds of the nation, the North East Region and Japanese scholars, researchers and government officials in what can be seen as the biggest ever delegation from that country, to seriously deliberate on taking the partnership forward positively. The 2-day deliberations also include industry heads from across the region and beyond. Initiated by Asian Confluence, a Shillong-based think-tank which calls itself the third space where civil society actors can engage with governments from across nations and push for better trade and other collaborations, these engagements have been ongoing for over a decade. Most importantly the presence of the country head of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Takeuchi Takuro who in his presentation gave a graphic of the developmental gaps in North East India, also reveals the seriousness with which Japan views its role as a collaborating partner. Discussions at the inaugural sessions focussed on the power sector, manufacturing and connectivity apart from collaboration with universities and colleges. Japan with an aging population requires workers across various sectors from construction workers to nurses and care-givers to the elderly. Meghalaya has sent about 47 nurses to Japan and they are doing quite well and sending home remittances. Principal Secretary, Government of Meghalaya, Sampath Kumar pointed to the remittance economy which the state is trying to build up through job placements of different trained professionals from Meghalaya.
The semi-conductor sector which is coming up in a big way in Assam is a subject being discussed at the conclave as Assam looks for opportunities for scaling up the sector. Apart from the business front however, the Japanese delegation also felt that Indian industries have much to learn from best management practices of companies such as Maruti Suzuki and others. One important aspect for India’s North East and India as a whole is in investing in clean energy. While Meghalaya has rich reserves of coal and there are those who believe that thermal power is the future of power generation in Meghalaya, the ecological costs may be too high to counter.Japan is a global leader in hi-tech manufacturing specifically in the automotive, robotics and electronics sector apart from commanding major market shares in advanced machinery, semi-conductors and precision engineering. Moreover Japan is a leader in pharmaceuticals and green energy technology. Hence the states of the North East have much to gain through collaboration with Japan.
However, it’s not a one-sided arrangement because Japan too is looking at what it can get from the agriculture and human resource sector of India and the North East. North East India has agro-products that the Japanese are looking at such as the Shitake mushroom currently being produced in Meghalaya. Then there’s Lakadong turmeric which is world famous today. Apart from that there are horticulture products that if packaged professionally have an international market. Meghalaya has started growing buckwheat which is in great demand in Japan. Above all Japan needs skilled human resources in different sectors of its economy which the youth of the region are well equipped to handle. These are areas that need strengthening even while the Sasakawa Peace Foundation lends its weight to peace-building initiatives in the region. After all, peace is the forerunner to development.
