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India PM to visit Japan and China to boost ties

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-21 13:40

MUMBAI -- Armed with a potentially lucrative civil nuclear technology deal, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Japan to push energy and trade partnerships and China for a summit of Asian and European nations this week. 

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh talks to media on his arrival at the opening of the parliament session in New Delhi, India, Friday, Oct. 17, 2008. [Agencies]

India and the United States earlier this month signed a deal that will allow India to buy civilian nuclear technology for the first time in three decades, seen as bolstering its strategic clout in Asia.

Japan, which had supported India's inclusion in the Nuclear Suppliers Group despite strong local opposition over India's failure to sign nonproliferation accords, is keen to participate in the Indian nuclear energy market estimated to be worth around $27 billion over the next 15 years.

"We are grateful to Japan for going with the consensus in NSG despite its own unique history," Shiv Shankar Menon, India's foreign secretary told a news conference on Monday.

"India and Japan are strategic global partners, the bilateral meeting is to carry on the road map of this strategic relationship."

The two countries will be looking to boost trade, which is small compared with the flow between the fast-growing economies of India and China.

India and Japan carried out military exercises last year along with Australia and the United States.

"India and Japan have shown they are serious about strengthening their relationship," said Lalima Varma, a professor at the Centre for East Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. "But there is still a lot of ground to cover on the economic front."

Singh is scheduled to meet Taro Aso, the new Japanese prime minister, during his visit from October 21-23. Singh had last visited Japan in 2006.

Japan's trade with India in 2007 was about 1.21 trillion yen ($11.8 billion), according to the Japanese finance ministry, slightly more than 4 percent of Japan's trade with China.

Japan's Hitachi Ltd and Westinghouse Electric, a unit of Toshiba Corp, will now compete with global giants including General Electric Co and France's Areva for a slice of India's nuclear energy pie. Japan is also expected to invest in a dedicated freight corridor between Delhi and Mumbai.

"Japanese industries will be keen to have more access to a growing market in India," said Kohei Shiino, deputy director at the international economic research division at Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).