ID :
147390
Mon, 10/25/2010 - 20:32
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/147390
The shortlink copeid
Singh agree to boost Japan-India economic ties
TOKYO, Oct. 25 (Kyodo) - Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara agreed with visiting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday to boost economic ties between Japan and India through a bilateral free trade agreement and civilian nuclear cooperation pact.
In their meeting at a Tokyo hotel, Maehara expressed gratitude for Singh's
leadership in developing a strategic bilateral partnership and successfully
concluding the FTA negotiations, according to Japanese officials.
The Indian premier, who arrived in Japan on Sunday for a three-day visit,
thanked Maehara for Japan's official development assistance to India and said
he expects the two countries will further deepen economic cooperation, the
officials said. India is currently the largest recipient of Japan's ODA.
Singh was quoted as saying that Japan's high-level technologies and India's
young labor force and expanding market can form a unique complementary
relationship.
Later in the day, Singh and his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan are scheduled to
officially agree on the FTA by confirming the end of bilateral negotiations
that began in 2007. The pact will abolish tariffs on goods that account for 94
percent of the two-way trade flow in 10 years.
In connection with bilateral negotiations on a civilian nuclear cooperation
pact that started in June, Singh said New Delhi will continue to impose a
moratorium on its nuclear tests, the officials said. The envisioned accord
would enable Japanese firms to export nuclear power generation technology and
related equipment to India.
While welcoming Singh's pledge to continue India's moratorium on nuclear tests,
Maehara conveyed to the premier the sentiment of Japanese people over the issue
as Japan is the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings,
according to the officials.
The start of the two countries' talks on the pact has triggered protests from
survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World
War II, because India has developed nuclear weapons without signing the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Singh later told a luncheon meeting hosted by the Japan Business Federation
that he recognizes the sensitivity of the issue.
Apart from economic matters, Maehara hailed a meeting of foreign ministers from
Japan, India, Germany and Brazil in September in New York to promote the reform
of the U.N. Security Council. The four countries share the goal of becoming
permanent members of the powerful decision-making body.
Japan has become more eager to strengthen its ties with India, a fast-growing Asian democratic nation with a population of 1.2 billion, in the wake of a dispute with China over a territorial issue that has caused Japan-China relations to sink to their lowest point in years, observers say.
In their meeting at a Tokyo hotel, Maehara expressed gratitude for Singh's
leadership in developing a strategic bilateral partnership and successfully
concluding the FTA negotiations, according to Japanese officials.
The Indian premier, who arrived in Japan on Sunday for a three-day visit,
thanked Maehara for Japan's official development assistance to India and said
he expects the two countries will further deepen economic cooperation, the
officials said. India is currently the largest recipient of Japan's ODA.
Singh was quoted as saying that Japan's high-level technologies and India's
young labor force and expanding market can form a unique complementary
relationship.
Later in the day, Singh and his Japanese counterpart Naoto Kan are scheduled to
officially agree on the FTA by confirming the end of bilateral negotiations
that began in 2007. The pact will abolish tariffs on goods that account for 94
percent of the two-way trade flow in 10 years.
In connection with bilateral negotiations on a civilian nuclear cooperation
pact that started in June, Singh said New Delhi will continue to impose a
moratorium on its nuclear tests, the officials said. The envisioned accord
would enable Japanese firms to export nuclear power generation technology and
related equipment to India.
While welcoming Singh's pledge to continue India's moratorium on nuclear tests,
Maehara conveyed to the premier the sentiment of Japanese people over the issue
as Japan is the only country in the world to have suffered atomic bombings,
according to the officials.
The start of the two countries' talks on the pact has triggered protests from
survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World
War II, because India has developed nuclear weapons without signing the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Singh later told a luncheon meeting hosted by the Japan Business Federation
that he recognizes the sensitivity of the issue.
Apart from economic matters, Maehara hailed a meeting of foreign ministers from
Japan, India, Germany and Brazil in September in New York to promote the reform
of the U.N. Security Council. The four countries share the goal of becoming
permanent members of the powerful decision-making body.
Japan has become more eager to strengthen its ties with India, a fast-growing Asian democratic nation with a population of 1.2 billion, in the wake of a dispute with China over a territorial issue that has caused Japan-China relations to sink to their lowest point in years, observers say.
