Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma has expressed hope that the bilateral trade between India and Japan will touch $25 billion by 2014.
Addressing a business delegation led by Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in New Delhi Wednesday, Sharma said: "As a result of coming in to force of Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the bilateral trade is likely to increase substantially and expressed hope that the target of US $ 25 billion by 2014 will be achieved during the specified period."
The CEPA was signed between India and Japan during Sharma's visit to Japan in February last.
The Minister said that the bilateral trade between India and Japan during 2009-10 was of the volume of $10.36 billion. The same during 2010-11 reached to $13.823.
He said, "The signing of CEPA has begun a whole new chapter in our economic partnership, unlocking the true potential of trade between our two countries. I am hopeful that CEPA will further deepen economic engagement in terms of Trade in Goods, Services, and Investment; contributing immensely to mutual prosperity."
He urged the Japanese government to invest in infrastructure sector. "Over the next couple of decades, we will see massive expansion in Indian infrastructure. In the coming 5 years itself, we have targeted to invest over a trillion dollars in creating capacities of infrastructure which will further catalyze India's economic growth. India has a structured energy dialogue with Japan which seeks to promote a structured cooperation in this sector. India has made rapid strides in the renewable energy sector."
