The Tamil Nadu government today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Japanese prefecture of Hiroshima. The MoU envisages economic cooperation between Hiroshima and Tamil Nadu, said representatives from Hiroshima Prefecture.
Hidehiko Yuzaki, governor, Hiroshima Prefectural Government, who is leading a business delegation to India, said that the MoU was expected to encourage more Japanese companies to invest in Tamil Nadu and also increase networking between the business communities of the two regions.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Tamil Nadu deputy chief minister M K Stalin and Hidehiko Yuzaki. M Velmurugan, executive vice chairman, Guidance Bureau, signed the MoU on behalf of the government of Tamil Nadu while Toshihiko Shirota, director, Commerce, Industries and Labour Bureau signed on behalf of the government of Hiroshima Prefecture.
Addressing the Japanese business delegation, Stalin invited the Japanese investors to take advantage of the opportunities that Tamil Nadu offers. He said that state government proposed to establish a Japanese industrial cluster near Chennai to attract more Japanese companies, particularly medium-sized companies.
The governor said, “there is enormous potential for mutual economic cooperation. Considering the advantages of Tamil Nadu including availability of human resources, access to customers both domestically and internationally, ports and others.”
He noted that so far nine companies from Hiroshima have invested in India. Of these, four are in Tamil Nadu, including Hirotec, which manufacture closure panel solutions to the automotive industry, and Kobelco, a construction equipment manufacturer.