Trade mix with Japan lacks balance

There is an urgent need of strengthening mutual ties among India, Japan and China aiming to create a 'new Asia', feels Hideki Esho, professor of Economics, Hosie University "" Tokyo.

Speaking at a session on 'Establishment of Japan-India global partnership - a new role of Japanese ODA to India' jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and consulate general of Japan, Kolkata, Esho pointed out that economic relations was a mix of trade, foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance (ODA) and the mix was unbalanced.

The amount of FDI has been significantly small in comparison to ODA, he said. "Until the suspension of renewal of ODA in 1998, India has been the highest recipient of ODA", he added.

He accepted India's standing on ODA issue as correct. India has said countries should ideally not depend on ODA.

Referring to the increasing trend of political and diplomatic importance of India within the international community Esho admitted there still exists misunderstanding about India in the mind of Japanese regarding issues like ODA and other economic development.

"There is still a tendency to see India simply as a poor country. However, foreign aid only makes up a mere 2-3 per cent of the overall public investment made in India. ODA is not charity, " said Esho. He said Japan has not paid enough attention to India. Today, India was poised to become an Asian superpower rivalling Japan and China.

Presently, the growth in bilateral trade between the two countries was significant, said Ravi Poddar, deputy chairman - CII , eastern region. "Today Japan ranks fourth in term of FDI with the volume of trade in 2003 around $ 4.4 billion", said Poddar.

He said fields like information technology (IT), medical care, environment and several other fields provides ample opportunity for more collaborative activities between the two countries.