New Delhi, July 2 (IANS) As Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi began her three-day India visit, Japanese companies are set to announce investments worth nearly $12.5 billion (around 2 trillion yen) in the country.

More than 150 Japanese companies are participating in the Japan-India Economic Forum alongside the summit. The investment commitment is part of the broader commitment announced last year to facilitate 10 trillion yen in private Japanese investments in India over a decade.

In a post on X, Japan’s Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki, who arrived in New Delhi along with PM Takaichi, noted that over 150 companies will be participating in the Japan-India Economic Forum. In the post, Masanao added a report by Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun, which noted that these initiatives, valued at approximately 2 trillion yen on the Japanese side, aim to deepen their footprint in India.

India and Japan are expected to explore joint stockpiling initiatives to strengthen energy security. Defence cooperation is also expected to receive a mega boost.

In a big push for the ‘Make in India’ initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Takaichi are set to jointly inaugurate Maruti Suzuki India’s new manufacturing plant at Kharkhoda in Haryana. This is the fourth Maruti plant in India and the cumulative cost of all the plants comes to around Rs 35,000 crore, according to reports.

Earlier in the day, PM Modi met his Japanese counterpart Takaichi at the Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Prior to the meeting, the two leaders warmly greeted each other. PM Takaichi bowed to national flags of India and Japan while she and PM Modi were walking towards the meeting room.

Takaichi arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday evening, kicking off a three-day official visit. Prior to her departure, Takaichi highlighted the importance of Japan’s collaboration with India amid the current international situation.

“Through this visit, I hope to advance concrete cooperation with Prime Minister Modi in three key areas: deepening the Japan-India strategic partnership in light of the current international situation; promoting cooperation in economic security; and strengthening collaboration between businesses of our two countries in investment and innovation,” Takaichi told reporters in Tokyo on Wednesday.

–IANS

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