Japan to import Maruti cars made in India

Japan and India signed a deal Saturday for $12 billion to build the latter’s first high-speed-train network as both countries also established closer ties in terms of defense and civil nuclear cooperation.

An agreement on security measures for the protection of classified military information and an amendment protocol of double taxation avoidance agreement were among 16 pacts signed by the two sides.

REUTERS/Adnan AbidiJapan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (L) and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi shares a moment during a signing of agreement at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, India, December 12, 2015.

The move came after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian Premier Narendra Modi on Saturday agreed to promote people-to-people exchanges, the Japan Times reported.

Secondly, Tokyo’s signing of a nuclear agreement with New Delhi also sends out the message that Japan backs India’s membership in the dual-use technology denial regimes – the Missile Technology Control Regime, the Wassenaar Arrangement, the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the Australia Group.

A survey conducted two years back by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation for the island nation’s ministry for economy, trade & industry showed some 75 per cent of Japanese businessmen placing India as “the most promising country” ahead of China, Brazil, Vietnam and the US. Referring to inking of a pact on the bullet train project, Modi said, “No less historic is the decision to introduce High Speed Rail on Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector through Shinkansen known for speed, reliability, safety”.

The Prime Minister mentioned recent economic indicators in both India and Japan, and said these were extremely encouraging, especially in the light of the global economic slowdown.

Talking about the special financial packages announced by Japan with regard to Make in India project and the bullet train projects, Kawamura hoped that Japanese companies will be able to fully exploit the opportunities.

To support Modi’s “Make in India” initiative, Japan has created a fund of about $12 billion which will be provided to Japanese companies for manufacturing in India.

“All countries have the right to make their own decisions about who they want to cooperate with”, she told reporters in Beijing, adding that China expected to cooperate on other railway projects with India in the future.

“I cannot think of a strategic partnership that can exercise a more profound influence on shaping the course of Asia and our interlinked ocean regions more than ours”, the Indian prime minister said after the talks.

When asked about the target, he said: “We expect to export 20,000 to 30,000 units in a year”.

In a joint statement the two prime ministers mentioned the South China Sea and “called upon all states to avoid unilateral actions that could lead to tensions in the region”.

If realized, it could become Japan’s first military equipment transfer in decades after Abe lifted a ban on weapons sales under the country’s post-World War II pacifistic constitution. On whether Japanese side raised the isue of tracking of spent fuel, the foreign secretary said India has addressed the issue with a host of countries and its “template” on the issue satisfied all of them.