Japan and Punjab on Monday discussed the possibility of cooperation in ventures across the fields of agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure and commerce to boost investment in the north Indian state.The discussion took place over a formal dinner hosted by the Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Captain Amrinder Singh, for a high-level Japanese business and industry delegation, led by H.E Hiramatsu-San, Ambassador of Japan to India.Addressing the delegation, the Chief Minister said he was looking forward to collaborating with Japan on a wide range of projects across key segments of growth, such as manufacturing, infrastructure, commerce etc.Noting that Punjab and Japan had a huge potential for doing business together, Captain Amarinder extended to the Japanese delegation all support in ensuring ease of business. He expressed the hope that Japan would be a part of Punjab’s growth.Captain Amarinder spoke about the new, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility built by Sonalika Tractors in collaboration with a Japanese company to underline the value that Punjab could gain from Japan. Such plants could go a long way in enabling the state’s development and progress, he said, adding that he was impressed by the never-seen-before scale of the plant, which he inaugurated in Hoshiarpur earlier in the day.
The Chief Minister informed the Japanese delegation that industry was showing a lot of interest in investing in Punjab since the change in guard at the helm of the state’s government. It was evident that the industry was encouraged by the excellent output shown by Punjabi workers, many of whom had made a name for themselves as NRI diaspora settled in various parts of the world, he added.The Japanese envoy, on his part, said he saw massive opportunity for cooperation with Punjab, which has a strong and excellent labour core. He recalled his earlier meeting with the Chief Minister to discuss collaborative opportunities and said he had now come with businessmen and industrialists to take the agenda forward.Pointing out that there was a lot of competition among Indian states to attract investment, the ambassador expressed the hope that Punjab would give the Japanese business and industrial houses a good deal to enable mutual growth and benefit.