Help build 'new India': PM tells Japanese investors

Seeking Japanese investments to build a 'new India', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Wednesday that he has come this time on a mission: to consolidate the multifaceted India-Japan strategic relations.

"Our relations have changed considerably over time and we now have a multifaceted relationship. Japan is not just a source of development aid but an important investor and partner in building Asian co-operation," Singh said at a luncheon hosted by the Indian and Japanese business community in Tokyo.

"For me, each interaction with Japan has been a most pleasurable, educative and revealing one. It has revealed to me how much our two countries can do together, and how little we have done," he said.

"I have come to Japan to consolidate this partnership," Singh said ahead of his summit talks with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso.

"We welcome Japanese investment in our efforts to build a new India," the Prime Minister said while thanking Tokyo for its generous aid in the form of Overseas Developmental Assistance.

India currently gets 30 per cent of all Japanese ODA, becoming the largest recipient, overtaking China.

"We are deeply grateful that India has been the largest recipient of the Japanese ODA for the last five years.

"Its most visible symbol is the Delhi Metro," he said.

Describing Japan as the 'economic and technological powerhouse of the world', Singh noted that both nations were located in Asia to which the 21st century undoubtedly belongs.
 
"Both of us have the wherewithal to become the magnet of growth in Asia and globally. India and Japan can cooperate in the coming period of global slowdown to devise counter-cyclical strategies to create a new Zone of Growth in the world," the prime minister said.

The relationship between India and Japan transcended the economic domain, he said, noting that the two nations understood the language of democracy.

"We share the common values of freedom, an open society and a free market economy. We share civilisational links, and believe in the Asian approach to problem-solving and wealth creation," he said.

Singh noted that bilateral trade between India and Japan has been growing and has reached $10 billion for the first time in 2006-2007.

"At the current rate of growth, we can hope to achieve our target of $20 billion by 2010,"

he said at the event, also attended by Commerce and Industries Minister Kamal Nath.

The Prime Minister told Japanese investors that India provided stability and transparency.

"Our institutions have stood the test of time. With every challenge, they have emerged stronger. Our process of decision making may appear cumbersome but decision taken rest on the solid foundation of consensus," Singh said.

He identified cooperation in high-technology areas as an ideal sector for India and Japan to work.

"Japan can become our preferred partner in areas of established Japanese competence such as energy efficient technologies, power generation and distribution, including development of ultra-mega projects based on super critical technology and in the development of new and renewable sources of energy, including clean coal, solar and nuclear energy," he added.

Singh also touched upon the ambitious Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement which the two governments were negotiations for some time.

The CEPA will broaden the bilateral trade basket and enhance reciprocal investments, he said.

"It will provide economies of scale and allow India to serve as a global manufacturing hub for Japanese industry," Singh said, adding that the CEPA should also promote further export Indian goods and services into Japan through the removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers.

Quoting Lord Keynes, Singh noted that in our world of uncertainties, investment is both an act of faith and also an act of great adventure.

"I urge you to keep faith in India. The India of 2020 or 2040 will be more educated, more skilled, and will have far greater purchasing power. It will be an engine of growth for the global economy," the prime minister said.

"I invite you to be our partner in this journey. We wish to see Japan occupy a central role in our quest for sustainable development and poverty eradication," Singh said.