India, Japan understanding on developing industrial corridor

Tokyo, Dec 13 (UNI) Ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's arrival here this evening on a four-day visit, India and Japan today reached an understanding on developing an industrial corridor along the proposed Delhi-Mumbai multi-modal dedicated freight corridor.

This followed wide-ranging talks between Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akira Amari.

The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on upgrading the existing Japan-India Policy Dialogue (JIPD) to the level of Ministers from the present level of officials.

Mr Kamal Nath, who arrived here early today, will be part of the Prime Minister's delegation for talks with Japanese leaders over the next two days.

An official statement said the discussions between Mr Kamal Nath and Mr Akira were aimed at significantly increasing the trade and investment between the two countries and covered the ongoing multi-lateral trade talks at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

According to the statement, the MOU on upgrading the JIPD was a reaffirmation of the growing economic engagement between the two countries. The first meeting of the JIPD, to be chaired by the two ministers, will be held soon in New Delhi.

The industrial corridor will have several supporting infrastructure projects such as power facilities and rail connectivity to ports en route. It would also cover development of ports on the west coast of India.

Along this corridor, several industrial estates and clusters with high quality infrastructure are proposed to be developed to attract more investments from Japan and other countries.

A Task Force under Vice-Minister, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, and the Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India, will develop this concept and the components of the project further, the statement said.

The two ministers also agreed that the first meeting of the negotiating group on signing an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the two countries should be held very soon and that it should cover, besides trade in goods and services, issues concerning investment promotion and intellectual property rights.

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