The US$15 billion deal clinches three years of negotiations and reflects the deepening relationship between India and Japan stemming from the personal relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr Abe.
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Freedom of navigation in South China Sea, punishing perpetrators of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and stopping cross-border terrorism figured prominently during the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe on Saturday.
A unique feature of the understanding reached between Abe and Modi is that Japanese money would be used to create manufacturing facilities in India.
The two countries are also likely to sign an agreement allowing the transfer of defense technology and co-production of arms and military equipment.
“The memorandum we signed on civil nuclear energy cooperation is more than just an agreement for commerce and clean energy”.
Explaining why India deeply values the strategic partnership with Japan, Modi said, “No friend will matter more in realizing India’s economic dreams than Japan and I cannot think of a strategic partnership that can exercise a more profound influence on shaping the course of Asia and our interlinked ocean regions more than ours”.
Top officials said the nuclear agreement still needed “legal scrubbing” and finalisation of technical details, while Mr Abe will need to get parliamentary approval and navigate tough domestic laws.
“It will become an engine of economic transformation in India”, Modi said.
The visit assumes significance as it comes against the backdrop of Partner City Agreement between Kyoto and Varanasi, Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, signed by the two leaders during the Prime Ministers visit to Japan in August a year ago. Japan committed another $12 billion for “Make in India” initiative after inking far-reaching pacts on defence and nuclear energy.
It said the two Prime Ministers expressed concern over North Korea’s continued development of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, including its uranium enrichment activities.
Seeking the synergy between India’s Act East policy and Japan’s Partnership for Quality Infrastructure, the two prime ministers made a decision to develop and strengthen reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructures that augment connectivity within India and between India and other countries in the region. Cooperation between the two countries is important for the peace and security of the entire India-Pacific region.
Sadayuki Sakakibara, Co-Chairman, India Japan Business Leaders Forum, stated that Japan looks forward to continued action on the part of India in areas like ease of doing business, land acquisition, Goods and Services Tax, among others. On whether Japanese side raised the isue of tracking of spent fuel, the foreign secretary said India has addressed the issue with a host of countries and its “template” on the issue satisfied all of them. “Japanese private investments are also rising sharply”. India has certainly gained, but that gain may not have been realised without recognising the China-Japan rivalry and tacitly exploiting it.
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Japan is offering “easy terms” for US$12 billion of the 980 billion rupee (US$14.59 billion) cost, Modi said at a press conference in New Delhi yesterday.
