On the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived on Monday at Tokyo to address a two-day Quad Leaders Summit. While there, he held separate bilateral conferences with Japanese commercial enterprise leaders, along with SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son and Suzuki Motor Corp’s Osamu Suzuki, to talk about funding possibilities in sectors starting from textiles to automobiles, rising technologies, and startups.
He began to meet with Nobuhiro Endo, Chairman of NEC Corporation, after which with Tadashi Yanai, CEO of Uniqlo, a Japanese garb company.
Meetings with Son and Suzuki to discuss investment options followed.
In his discussion with Endo, Modi praised NEC’s contributions to India’s telecommunications sector, particularly the optical fibre cable projects between Chennai and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI) and Kochi and the Lakshadweep Islands (KLI), according to an official statement.
He also mentioned the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, which offers investment prospects.
“They reviewed several reforms being implemented in India to make it easier to do business, especially in the areas of industrial growth, taxation, and labour. They also discussed new and developing technology opportunities in India “According to the release.
Endo said the topics discussed included ways to contribute to India’s Smart Cities and NEC’s ambitions to help the country in the fields of education and logistics, among other things.”We are extremely glad to contribute to those sectors,” he added, citing Prime Minister Modi’s strong desire to grow and enhance India’s capabilities.
During his discussion with Yanai, the chairman, president, and CEO of Fast Retailing Co Ltd, the parent company of Uniqlo, Modi discussed India’s rapidly rising textile and clothing sector as well as investment potential under the PLI plan for textile projects, according to the statement.
Uniqlo’s enhanced participation in India’s journey to becoming a textile manufacturing hub, particularly the use of technologies in textile manufacturing, was also requested by the Prime Minister, who also asked the Japanese apparel giant to participate in the ‘PM-Mitra’ scheme aimed at further strengthening the textiles sector.”
“They also addressed numerous changes being implemented to make it easier for foreign investors to do business in India, notably in the areas of industrial growth, infrastructure, taxation, and labour,” the statement stated.
Uniqlo is looking into investing in the manufacturing and retail industries in India, according to Yanai “We can focus on end-to-end products, from plant to design to fabric,” he said, adding that the company intends to continue to grow in India, citing the country’s excellent IT talent.
During his discussion with Son, the founder and CEO of Softbank Corporation, Modi praised the company’s contribution to India’s startup sector.
Softbank’s future participation in India in critical areas such as technology, energy, and finance was discussed, according to an official statement.
Various reforms aimed at making it easier to do business in India were also discussed, and “concrete ideas were shared with Softbank on how it could increase its investments in India,” according to the statement.
According to Son, India is “expanding very swiftly with new businesses entering everyday and unicorns emerging very quickly,” making it the world’s third-largest startup and unicorn market.
India has a promising future. “Prime Minister Modi is devoted to India’s success, to assisting startups, to generating more unicorns, and to making India the world’s high-tech hub,” he continued.
During his conversation with Suzuki, the Prime Minister reflected on the veteran Japanese industry leader’s long affiliation with and commitment to India, praising Suzuki Motor Corp’s transformative role in the country’s automotive industry.”They discussed more investment potential in India, including the establishment of manufacturing facilities for electric vehicles and batteries, as well as recycling centres,” according to the official statement. The meeting also reviewed ways for strengthening India’s indigenous innovation system, such as talent development through Japan-India Institutes of Manufacturing (JIM) and Japanese Endowed Courses (JEC), according to the statement.Toshihiro Suzuki, president of Suzuki Motor Corporation, called Modi’s visit to Japan “an important milestone in the 70th year of Indo-Japanese diplomatic relations.”
“Prime Minister Modi’s reforms are indescribable in the sense that he is bringing changes that are altering the entire landscape of India into a model landscape,” Suzuki said, adding that Japanese investors greatly embrace Modi’s self-reliance concept.
