New Delhi (NVI): There has been unprecedented transformation of India-Japan ties under the leadership of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese premier Shinzo Abe, with the latter having launched various projects in J&K, Ladakh and North East region in recent times, The outgoing Ambassador of Japan to India has said.
The Ambassador Mr Kenji Hiramatsu, who called on the MoS PMO, Dr Jitendra Singh here on October 21, assured to extend Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP) programme in North Eastern region with participation of Government of Japan. Mr Hiramatsu spent about 3 years and 11 months in India
During the meeting, the Minister particularly discussed various projects from J&K, Ladakh and North East region. Dr Singh mentioned about the training of Nursing Care Workers (NCW). He said that under the (TITP), 12 candidates from Jammu have been selected in Japanese companies.
The Minister proposed that in future, 100 students can be taken under TITP programme from Ladakh as well, with 50 each from Leh and Kargil respectively.
The Minister said that a huge headway has been made in the level of collaboration in various fields such as bullet trains, nuclear, space technology and railways.
Dr Singh said that Japan shares emotional and historical relation with India, especially in North East. He added that Japan has specialisation in food processing units. He said that there is huge potential for opening specialised food parks for J&K apples, cherry, strawberry and Ladakh berry, on the lines of citrus fruit parks in North East.
Minister said that substantial engagement and investment has been done by Japan in North East under Modi Government, specially in the state of Manipur.
The Minister congratulated the Japanese Ambassador for his successful tenure in India and his contribution towards realisation of the vision of the two leaders.
He mentioned that Mr Hiramatsu’s tenure saw some major achievements, such as conclusion of a bilateral Nuclear Deal (December, 2016), establishment of Digital and Health Partnerships (October, 2018), agreement on commencement of ACSA negotiations (October, 2018), agreement on Japanese Language Education in India and Disaster Risk Reduction (September, 2017).
The Minister particularly thanked the Ambassador for his contribution in establishment of the India-Japan Act East Forum which is an important mechanism for synergising India’s “Act East Policy” and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”. Speaking about the Act East Forum, the Minister said that the Forum has brought all the relevant stakeholders together, and synergised towards implementation of ongoing and new projects in the North-East region.
-sb
