PM to press for closer trade ties with Japan

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will seek more investments from Japanese companies into India during his four-day visit to Japan starting today.

Singh will press for closer trade and investment ties during his meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Singh will also address Japan's Parliament tomorrow, according to a Bloomberg report.

Indo-Japanese bilateral trade in goods for 2005-2006 stood at $6.5 billion with exports from India at $2.5 billion and imports at $4 billion, according to CII data.

Japan accounts for 2.41 per cent of India's total exports of 103 billion. India's trade with rest of the world has risen over the years, while with Japan, it has been slow, R Seshasayee, president, CII, said.

Japan's share in India's total trade basket was 2.59 per cent in 2005-06 while it was 3.24 per cent in 2002-03. An India-Japan bilateral agreement may help bring back the importance of Japan in India's total trade basket, Seshasayee added.

Ahead of his visit, Singh said he would hold talks with Abe on "ways to reinforce the strategic focus in our global partnership to move to a more comprehensive economic engagement, and to develop a mutually beneficial cooperation pact covering all aspects of a bilateral relationship, including security and terrorism, energy, transport, science and technology, and culture".

The prime minister also underscored the need for tighter bilateral relations.