"With Japan, there is scope of growing business...have to work harder": EAM Jaishankar

New Delhi [India], August 2 : Acknowledging the fact that India and Japan have a strategic convergence of interests, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday said there is scope for growing business between both nations and New Delhi will have to work harder with Tokyo.
The External Affairs Minister further stated that the people in Japan also appreciate that they have to work with India, keeping in mind the growing trade ties between the nations.
"With Japan, there is scope of growing business. We have done decently on investment. We have a target of 5 trillion yen which is USD 42 billion till 2027 as new investments to come in for those 5 years. We have reached halfway to the target, that is what I was told. But the fact is, given today the changing geoeconomics and new investment strategies of many countries, we have to work harder with Japan," Jaishankar said in his remarks at the Jasjit Singh Memorial Lecture here in New Delhi today.
The minister also reminisced about his recent trip to Japan and underscored the shared interests of both nations.
"I have just come back from Japan the day before yesterday. Yesterday We had the Speaker of the Japanese parliament here with a political-business mixed delegation here. We have, in a sense basic political understanding. I think the strategic people in Japan also appreciate that they have to work with India and that our interests are very convergent," the EAM said.
"My sense is the business logic still has not got that kind of wait and momentum in their of system. It is doing decently but at a certainly flat level," he added.
Jaishankar also went on to highlight how India has the lowest number of people in Japan, among South Asians, calling it a "big gap."
"Among South Asians, actually India has the lowest number of people in Japan. There are more Nepalis, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, and Pakistanis working in Japan than there are Indians. If you look at the number of Indian students in Japan, there are 1.3 million Indian students across the world. There are 1500 Indian students in Japan. There are big gaps there, we need to work harder at those gaps. Because, especially with Japan, if you do not drill down and make it happen, and fix it bottom up, it is not going to unfold by itself," the minister said.
Jaishankar visited Japan this week, where he held a meeting with top leaders of the country.
In one such meeting, Jaishankar, along with his Japanese counterpart, Yoko Kamikawa shared the view that they would strengthen bilateral cooperation, including the steady progress of the high-speed rail project, a flagship project between Japan and India.
Jaishankar and Yoko also welcomed the expansion of recruitment for Indian nationals under the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme and the start of the dispatch of Japanese Language Partners to India and exchanged views on cooperation regarding the Security Council reform, with a view to the Future Summit in September 2024, according to an official release of the Foreign Ministry of Japan.