Mumbai: Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama on Monday pitched for intensifying bilateral trade with
India, particularly in infrastructure and technology, during
his meetings with the doyens of Indian business and industry.
"The PM called for concrete steps to enhance and
strengthen the bilateral trade between both nations. Besides,
he also asked for a closer cooperation in the areas of nuclear
energy, R&D and infrastructure projects," Shipping Corporation
of India Chairman and MD S Hajara, part of a CII-delegation
meeting the visiting dignitary said.
In 2008-09, the Indo-Japan bilateral trade stood at
around USD 12 billion and is expected to grow further by next
year.
Noting that Japanese investment in India was still much
lower than that in China, Hatoyama said there was vast scope
for infusing larger resources into sectors of potential
growth, primarily infrastructure.
The premier held separate meetings with Reliance
Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata Group Chairman Ratan
Tata, and also met a CII delegation and Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi.
The closed-door meeting between Hatoyama and Tata came in
the backdrop of healthy market response to the recently-
launched joint venture between Tata Teleservices and
Japanese telecom giant NTT DOCOMO.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 28, 2009, 17:27