New Delhi, September 2 – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday promised public and private investment worth $35 billion in India over the next five years. Japan also offered to provide financial, technical and operational support to India for introduction of bullet trains, a project high on the priority of the Modi government.
In a joint statement after their summit-level talks in Tokyo on Monday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe said they have renewed their friendship over dinner and look forward to a lasting and fruitful relationship between Asia’s second and third largest economies.
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Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe expressed his hope that India could introduce Shinkansen system (of bullet trains) on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai route,” said the joint declaration issued after talks between the two leaders.
Abe expressed his “readiness to provide financial, technical and operational support to introduce Shinkansen system, for which Prime Minister Modi expressed his appreciation,” it said.
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“We agreed to the symbolic Shinkansen bullet train and connectivity between India and its neighbouring countries,” Abe said at a joint media interaction with Modi after the talks.
The declaration said the two Prime Ministers welcomed progress in the ongoing flagship projects of India-Japan economic partnership, such as the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC), Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC) and committed to accelerate their implementation.
Modi invited Japanese investments in the development of new smart cities and industrial park. Appreciating Japan’s contribution to the development of urban mass rapid transport system in India, Modi sought Japan’s association with Ahmedabad Metro Project. Prime Minister Abe expressed Japan’s willingness to support the project in a mutually beneficial manner.
Recognising the critical dependence of their economies on imported energy sources and their vulnerability to supply shocks, the two Prime Ministers affirmed their intention to further strengthen energy cooperation through the India-Japan Energy Dialogue.
They shared the intention that India and Japan would explore a higher level of strategic collaboration in the global oil and natural gas market, including through joint procurement of LNG, upstream development of oil and gas, and joint efforts to promote flexible LNG markets, including through relaxation of destination clauses.
The two prime ministers also welcomed enhanced cooperation on utilising highly efficient and environmentally- friendly coal-fired power generation technology and progress on cooperation in Clean Coal Technology (CCT).
The two Prime Ministers welcomed substantial agreement on a commercial contract for manufacturing and supply of rare earth chlorides from India to Japan and affirmed their strong resolution for the finalisation of commercial contract as well as the commencement of commercial production at the earliest.
The two prime ministers affirmed the commitment of both counties to actively engage in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations and to make RCEP a modern,
comprehensive, high-quality and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement. They decided to cooperate further towards conclusion of RCEP negotiations.
-INDIA TODAY
