Japan Diplomat Confident of Strong India Ties

Kolkata, Sep 11 (PTI) A Japanese diplomat on Wednesday expressed confidence that India's relationship with his country relationship will continue to strengthen under the new Prime Minister of Japan.

Speaking at an interaction with the Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, Consul General of Japan Nakagawi Koichi noted that the bilateral relationship has grown significantly over the years and that he expects whoever takes over as Japan's new Prime Minister to maintain this momentum.

Japan will go for polls to elect a new Prime Minister on September 27.


The diplomat hoped that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Japan in the near future, following Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's visit to India in March 2023.


While no specific timeline has been set, officials anticipate that Modi's visit to take place in 2024.


Koichi emphasised the importance of infrastructure development in the India-Japan partnership, highlighting the high-speed railway project and identifying areas like artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, and green energy as key areas for future cooperation.


He also mentioned that around 1,400 Japanese companies are currently operating in India, with approximately 25 headquartered in West Bengal and two each in Jharkhand and Odisha.


Koichi expressed Japan's interest in addressing the congestion at the Petrapole Land Customs Checkpost, which is the largest land trade and passenger border between India and Bangladesh.


While no specific projects have been identified yet, he indicated that Japan is open to discussing potential solutions to streamline the border trade.


The bilateral trade between India and Japan was USD 22.85 billion in 2023-24.