New Delhi (NVI): The Textiles Committee of India today signed a Memorandum if Understanding (MoU) with Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan to promote cooperation in textile trade and industry of both the countries.
The MoU signing ceremony was held between Textiles Committee, Ministry of Textiles, Government of India and Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre Japan through video conferencing.
“The ceremony was presided over by Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani and by his excellency Yasumasa Nagasaka, State Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan,” the Ministry of Textiles said in a statement.
“The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in its meeting on September 2, 2020 had given the approval for signing of a MoU between the two organisations,” it added.
The main objective of the MoU is to provide support to textile’s trade and industry for ensuring quality as per the requirement of Japanese buyers through Testing, Inspection & Conformity Assessment, Training & Capacity Building, Research & Development (R&D) and Consultancy.
This MoU will strengthen the bilateral trade by enhancing India’s export of Textile and Apparels (T&A) to Japan, which is the third largest export destination of the world, the ministry said. It will also formalize mutual interaction and strengthen the relationship in accordance with their respective areas of specialisation.
Under the MOU, both the institutions have agreed to share and exchange relevant technical information and documentation on a regular basis, the statement read.
They will also carry out activities relating to standards, quality assurance norms, joint research projects on testing, development of user friendly tools for dissemination of data to the industry and facilitate sourcing across the Textiles Value Chain (TVC) from both the countries.
Speaking on the occasion, Smriti Irani recalled the friendship and long history rooted in spiritual affinity and strong cultural and civilizational ties between India and Japan and praised about the further deepening and strengthening of the India-Japan relationship under the able leadership of PM Modi.
The minister also highlighted the challenge relating to stringent quality standards for exports to Japan and expressed confidence that the MoU will help in creating awareness on the various quality parameters being sought by the importers based in Japan.
She further spoke about the synergy in the working of the two organisations and expressed confidence that it will inter alia boost the Technical Textiles sector as well and improve sourcing from India.
During the meeting, Nagasaka also highlighted that India is a huge market for Japanese industry and expressed confidence that going forward, there will be substantial development in the India- Japan trade relationship.
Furthermore, the ministry said that, “India and Japan had signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2011 which inter-alia facilitates import of garments from India to Japan at zero duty.”
Despite CEPA, the growth in trade in Textiles and Apparel (T&A) between the two countries has been moderate, it added.
In 2019, a high level delegation from Ministry of Textiles was also mounted with a view to enhance exports and co-operation in textile sector and to identify areas for optimizing the benefit of CEPA.
As an outcome of these developments, the Textiles Committee entered into negotiation with Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan for providing valuable services to the textile trade and industry of both the countries through collaborative efforts between the two organisations, the statement added.
-RJV
