'Japan could make infrastructure devpt'

New Delhi, Aug 22: Commerce and Industries Minister Kamal Nath today said the historic Indo-Japanese Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) had been put on ''fast track'' and would be finalised by the year-end.

Calling it a landmark agreement, Mr Nath said, ''The agreement has been put on fast track and will be completed by the year end.'' Talking to mediapersons, the Minister said the EPA was announced in December 2006 after three rounds of talks in Tokyo and Delhi and discussions were on for its early completion.

''We want to see that the agreement reaches its conclusion soon.

For that reason we will hold two rounds of negotiations this year.

The next round will be held in Japan and hope to see it conclude by December this year,'' Mr Nath added.

Trade between India and Japan grew by 30 per cent in 2006 and the FDI inflow the same year stood at 520 billion dollars.

The EPA has to be a win-win situtaion for both the countries and it will not only be an agreement for trading of goods, but will also demonstrate the goodwill between New Delhi and Tokyo, Mr Nath told the participants at the India-Japan Business Seminar here. Expressing optimism at the growing Indo-Japan economic relations, he said,''Both Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe have stressed on the Indo-Japanese partnership.'' India has set up a target of securing five billion dollar investment from Japan in the next five years.

''Our need for infrastructure is massive, and we estimate that in the next five years, we will need 384 billion dollars to bridge the infrastructure gap,'' he informed.

Mr Nath highlighted the lead given to Indo-Japan economic engagement through the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project and hoped that apart from benefiting the country's industrial infrastructure development, it would also become a new springboard for the Japanese companies for accessing the US and EU markets.

Japan need to synergise their growth to bring out the best of Indian and Japanese industries by way of innovative technology and India in return can make available its burgeoning human resources and for that reason the negotiation for EPA is advanced from June 2008 to this year, Mr Nath noted.

''The resurgence of manufacturing is visible in the sustained interest of overseas companies in establishing production centres in India. Factories for Suzuki, Mitsubishi, Toyota, Honda, Asahi and others are going online rapidly, making a range of products for domestic as well as international sales.'' Pointing out that the EPA is among the fastest economic agreement to be negotiated by any two countries, Japan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Masaharu Kohno said the agreement will be beginning of a strategic global relation between India and Japan and will add a new dimension to their economic relations.

Informing that the Japanese government will kickstart various projects in India, Mr Kohno said, ''The Delhi-Mmumbai freight corridor will mean huge business for Japanese companies therefore Japan is studying the proposal closely.'' Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, who chaired the seminar called for greater Japanese involvement in developing the countries' infrastructure to stimulate the economic development.

UNI