Japan firms setting up shop in India: EAM Jaishankar

New York, Sep 29 (SocialNews.XYZ) Japanese companies are showing greater interest in setting up operations in India, including in semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, as the two countries expand their investment and security ties, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in New York.

Speaking at a New York event, EAM Jaishankar said investment, more than trade alone, defined the economic relationship between India and Japan. He said Japanese businesses increasingly saw value in having more than one source of production.

“Ours with Japan is more investment centric,” he said. That investment relationship was growing as companies looked to diversify their supply chains, he added.

EAM Jaishankar identified semiconductors, chemicals and other forms of advanced manufacturing as areas of interest. He said Japanese firms were looking at ways to use Indian talent and work with Indian companies.

“I can see Japanese companies really setting up shop in India,” he said, referring to operations built around those skills and partnerships.

The minister said the relationship was also growing in defence and security. India and Japan were maritime powers with interests in the Indo-Pacific, he said, and their long history of good relations gave that cooperation a firm base.

Japan had been viewed favourably across India’s political spectrum for decades, EAM Jaishankar said. That broad acceptance, together with the countries’ locations and shared challenges, had helped the security relationship develop.

He pointed to more exercises and shared activities. Building a defence trade relationship with Japan was not easy, he said, which made the expansion of such contacts meaningful.

EAM Jaishankar also cited an exercise by the Japanese Air Force in India, though he was uncertain whether it had taken place late last year or early this year. He described steps of that kind as significant by Japanese standards.

The Quad offered a framework for further cooperation, he said. Jaishankar suggested that an agreed structure was useful for Japan as it broadened its partnerships.

The relationship extended beyond governments and companies. India wanted more exchanges and more students to study in Japan, he said, while noting that the current number of Indian students there was low. Demand for Japanese-language teaching in India was also rising, he added.

EAM Jaishankar set out these areas in response to a question about the role of the India-Japan partnership in the wider Indo-Pacific. His answer linked the economic and security sides of the relationship: companies sought more production options, while both governments saw value in working with additional partners.

India and Japan are members of the Quad, along with Australia and the United States. The grouping provides a forum for cooperation among the four Indo-Pacific countries.

Japan has long been an important investor in Indian infrastructure and industry. The countries also maintain diplomatic, economic and security exchanges alongside their work in the Quad.

Source: IANS