Japan's stand on N-deal not disappointing: PM

On Board Air India One, Dec 16: Prime Minister Manmohan Singhtoday denied he was disappointed by Japan's reservations about openlyendorsing the India-US civil nuclear deal, saying he was convincedthat, when the time came, Tokyo would support India in the 45-memberNuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

"No, I am not at all disappointed. There is adequate appreciationof the fact that India needs nuclear power for its energy security andI am convinced that, when the time comes, Japan will be on our side,"he told journalists who accompanied him on his way back from a four-dayvisit to Tokyo.

As the only country which has suffered a nuclear attack, Japanmade it clear yesterday, at talks between Dr Singh and his Japanesecounterpart Shinzo Abe, that it had reservations about openly endorsingthe deal.

Mr Abe said Japan would wait for India to sign the proposedcountry-specific agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) before making up its mind on the issue.

The Prime Minister said that he had not gone to Japan to "discussthese matters in any great length." "And the Japanese sensitivities onmatters relating to nuclear have to be respected because they are theonly country in the world which had been devastated by atomic weaponsin the Second World War," he underlined.

Mr Abe had said yesterday that India should respond to theconcerns of the international community and agree to IAEA safeguards."We do have our sensitivities on such issues," he had said.

Dr Singh explained that under the Indo-US deal, Washington wouldseek a waiver from the Congress and then help and lobby for India inthe NSG to modify its guidelines to enable international civil nuclearcooperation with India. Japan is a key member of the group.

"Our commitment is that we will have in place an India-specificsafeguards agreement. That is the commitment, which is a publicdocument, which is in the July 18 agreement (with the US) that the(Japanese) Prime Minister was mentioning," he said.

Overall, the Prime Minister was upbeat about the outcome of his visit,during which the two countries decided to upgrade their bilateralrelationship to a strategic and global partnership. The two sides alsosigned as many as 12 statements and agreements aimed at enhancing thestrategic and economic components of their relationship.

''As I see it, this visit of mine will transform our relationshipwith Japan, which is the second largest economy in the world,'' he said.

''And you can see the transformation that is involved becausePrime Minister Abe himself said he looks upon the India-Japanrelationship as the most important bilateral relationship for Japan.

That is a measure of the transformation that I expect will take place as a result of my visit,'' he said.

As regards the time frame in which some of the major projectsplanned between the two sides would be completed, Dr Singh said heexpected work on the Rs 22,000 crore Multi-modal Dedicated FreightCorridors between Delhi and Mumbai and Delhi and Howrah to take off ina year.

He said Japan had already conducted a feasibility study and adetailed project report was under preparation. ''It should take off, Ithink, in a year's time,'' he said.

On the Delhi Metro project, he noted that Phase I was alreadycompleted and Phase II was under implementation. ''Therefore, quicklyarrangements regarding the financing should be tied up,'' he said.

Asked if Japanese companies would get preferential treatment inthese projects, Dr Singh said, ''The normal rule is that we go bycompetitive bidding. The Japanese industry's competitiveness iswell-known and there is every possibility that a sizeable chunk oforders will go to Japan on merit.'' To a question about why there was arevival of interest in India among Japanese companies, the PrimeMinister said, ''They recognise that a new India is in the making, thatan economy that is growing at the rate of eight per cent per annum andhas the ambition to grow at nine to ten per cent per annum offers newcomplementarities.'' He said, at his luncheon meeting with captains ofJapanese industry in Tokyo yesterday, he saw ''a new-found enthusiasm''among them about investing in India which he had never seen before.

''So, I feel for the first time, the synergy involving both thegovernment and the industry of Japan is most favourable as far asinvesting in and trading with India are concerned,'' he remarked.

In response to a query about the worries in some quarters aboutthe concerns expressed by security agencies regarding foreign directinvestment in certain sectors, Dr Singh admitted there was someambiguity on the issue.

''We will resolve it. I cannot say that the security concerns canbe totally set aside but it is very important that security concernsare sector-specific and should not be targeted at individualcountries,'' he added.

Apart from Mr Abe, the Prime Minister met several other Japaneseministers and leaders. He also interacted with Japanese and Indianbusinessmen.

Dr Singh had the singular honour of addressing the Diet, theJapanese Parliament, on Thursday. He and his wife, Mrs Gursharan Kaur,were received in an audience by the Emperor and Empress of Japan.

On the same day, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Festival ofIndia in Japan and, along with Mr Abe, unveiled the joint logo of theJapan-India Friendship Year 2007 as part of the efforts to increasepeople-to-people contacts between the two countries.

UNI

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