Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, good afternoon and welcome. We are delighted to begin the Japan-India Joint Economic Forum here in New Delhi, India. My name is Haruka Mariyama, Senior Director of JETRO New Delhi. I have studied at IIT Guwahati under the joint degree program, and I am truly honored to moderate this forum connecting Japan and India. To begin, please welcome Mr. Nohiko Ishig, Chairman and CEO of Japanisthan Thorete Organization, to deliver the opening remarks and MoU announcements.
Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, Honorable Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Sunao Takachi, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, a very good afternoon to you all. Namaste. I am the Chairman and CEO of JETRO. It is a great honor for us to host this India-Japan Joint Economic Forum today in the distinguished presence of the Honorable Prime Ministers of India and Japan. Japan-India economic relations are now at an unprecedented high level. According to JETRO, more than 80% of Japanese companies operating in India are planning to expand their local business going forward. Today, we are proud to announce 129 MoUs between Japan and India. Since the Japan-India Summit Meeting held in August last year, investment in India has gained strong momentum, reaching approximately 2 trillion Japanese yen in new investment over the first year. The scope of the investments has expanded into advanced fields such as semiconductors, AI, quantum technology. Why Corporation has also deepened in areas including large-scale investment in energy such as green ammonia. We are confident that these developments will further accelerate business engagement between the two countries. We remain wholly committed to promoting Japan-India business relations. We sincerely hope that today's forum will open new and important avenues to further expand our economic ties. Thank you very much for gracing today's event with your presence. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Next, we welcome Mr. Yasinagar, Chairman of the Japan India Business Corporation Committee and Chair of the Committee on South Asia, to give his remarks.
Narendra Modi, Japan present here. I am honored to receive the opportunity to speak words as the representative of the business world of Japan. In the present world, there is a deepening of concentration and separation, and a consequence. In this world which is divided and shaken, therefore from such a situation, Japan's partnership with the Global South, within that also India stands special. Strategic global partner for Japan and holds an indispensable position in the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific. So that both India and Japan, by utilizing their respective strengths, embark on the road to economic growth as well as contribute towards the international economic system based on a legal order. On cooperation between countries, a large number of representatives of Japanese companies are present here on the occasion of the visit of the Honorable Prime Minister of Japan. This is the first step in the direction and therefore in my opinion is an extremely significant event. And under the guiding idea of Make in India, Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, power and quality control management. Japan with the growth potential of India, one can look forward to the economic growth of not only India but Africa and the Middle East as well, and that opening up global markets. In reality, there are already developments in the direction of cooperation in new areas. 1400 companies, success stories, but there are still many areas which are still available and opportunities of cooperation from now onwards. It is urgent to expand extensively the variety of areas of cooperation including the fields of medium and small scale industries. In addition to that, from the viewpoint of economic security, cooperation in areas of semiconductors, AI, critical green energy are required. And that we, the business world, continue to realize. In the next 10 years, of human resources, expected deep relationship between India and Japan and open new dimensions of cooperation. With these words, I would like to conclude my brief introductory remarks. Thank you.
Thank you. Welcome Mr. R. Mukunda, President of CII and Managing Director and CEO of Tata Chemicals Limited, to deliver his remarks.
Honorable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi ji, Your Excellency Madam, Honorable Prime Minister of Japan, Sunao Takachi, Excellencies, distinguished ministers, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. I am indeed deeply honored to be at this forum in the esteemed presence of our two countries' leadership. I eagerly look forward to your distinguished addresses on shaping the future course of India-Japan bilateral relations. From the industry and business communities of India and Japan, we express our gratitude. India and Japan today share a special strategic and global partnership founded on mutual trust, shared democratic values, and a common vision for a free, open, and prosperous Indo-Pacific. Our partnership is steadily expanding across economic, technological, and strategic domains, making it one of the most enduring and forward-looking bilateral relationships. Thank you, Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, for leading us to this relationship spread over many, many years. The India-Japan partnership is anchored in eight key pillars: including economic partnership, economic security, technology and innovation, sustainability, mobility, health, people-to-people exchange, and state-of-the-art cooperation. The meetings of both our leaders have enabled us in business to advance collaboration in priority areas such as digital transformation, critical minerals, space, energy, and human resource development. Ladies and gentlemen, CII has maintained long-standing engagement with Japan through sustained business interactions, institutional partnerships, and industry platforms including JETRO, JICAND, REN, and JBIC. Some thoughts for your Excellencies, Honorable Prime Ministers, for your consideration for furthering the opportunities for collaboration and cooperation, to especially facilitate investments and joint venture partnerships. First, there is significant scope to open up because India and Japan clean energy partnership further. Building on this, we deepen cooperation in electric mobility, battery storage, green hydrogen, carbon capture technologies, and renewable energy systems. Excellencies, we would like to establish a structured India-Japan clean technology working group under the IG-BLF to further these ideas and projects. Second, a strategic opportunity lies in expanding India-Japan digital partnership 2.0, particularly in emerging technologies such as AI, robotics, quantum computing, and advanced manufacturing. Here, India's strong IT ecosystem and talent base can complement Japan's technological leadership. As CII, we will continue to play a bridging role by connecting innovation ecosystems, facilitating venture partnerships, and supporting adoption of Industry 5.0 and smart manufacturing solutions. We will work on the entire spectrum, more especially with our MSMEs. Third, skill development has been a key pillar of our partnership, supported by initiatives such as the Technical Internship Training Program (TITP) and the Specified Skilled Worker framework. We have facilitated from CII over 800 placements, and we see strong potential to scale this further through structured industry partnerships and targeted skill programs aligned with future technologies. We shall further deepen this. We keenly look forward to your guidance of both our leaders. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much, Mr. Mukunda. Now it is my pleasure to introduce the inauguration of Maruti Suzuki's new facility in Kharkoda. Now I invite the Representative Director and President of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Mr. Toshi Suzuki, to share his thoughts.
