CII delegation to leave for Japan on June 14

New Delhi, June 11: Aiming at cementing the Indo-Japan economic ties, a 15-member delegation of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), led by its president R Seshasayee, will leave on a three-day trip for Japan on June 14.

Significantly, a high-profile government delegation, led by the Minister of Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath, will also attend an India-Japan Business Summit being organised at the same location.

The government delegation led by Mr Nath will focus on the key opportunities in India in manufacturing, infrastructure, biotechnology, and research and development.

Mr Kamal Nath and his Japanese counterpart Toshihiro Nikai will also address the summit.

About the importance of the CII mission, Mr Seshasayee said, ''India and Japan have enjoyed vibrant trading relations in the past. However, over the past decade, Indo-Japan trade has tended to stagnate and even decline, even as India's trade regime has become steadily more liberal.'' ''The turnover in bilateral trade declined to 3.7 billion US dollars in 2002-03 as compared to 4.04 billion dollars in 1997-98.

Over the past two years, however, this tendency towards stagnation was reversed, with total trade growing by 18 per cent in 2003-04 and by 14 per cent in 2004-05 to reach nearly 5 billion dollars,'' he added.

Japan has emerged as the fourth-largest FDI contributor to India for the period from 1991 to 2004. Consistently, Japanese companies such as Suzuki, Toyota, Honda and Mitsubishi Chemicals have invested in India, reiterating their faith in the fastest growing free market democracy, the CII President said.

During the visit, CII delegation will appraise the Japanese counterparts about the India growth story and identify various means to enhance bilateral trade across sectors, in order to realise Indo-Japanese bilateral trade potential.

The Indian delegation will also give a fresh thrust to the 'India Everywhere' campaign at the World Economic Forum's East Asia Summit being held in Tokyo from June 14-16.

Over 250 global leaders from business, government and academia will congregate at the forum to shape Asia's political, industry and economic agendas.

The theme of this year's meeting, being organised by the CII, the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), and the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), and supported by Keizai Doyukai and Keidanren, is 'Creating a New Agenda for Asian Integration'.

Infosys Technologies Ltd's President, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Nandan M Nilekani is one of the Co-Chairs at the World Economic Forum on East-Asia. The two-day event will put a spotlight on India in the context of Asian integration with Indian speakers in several sessions.

On the eve of the WEF event, the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan are co-sponsoring a Indo-Japan Business Summit at the same location.

UNI