Japanese PM: Japan keen to see bilateral trade with India going up

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Saturday said that there were over 1,000 Japanese companies in India and that his government is keen to see bilateral trade going up substantially. Abe, who arrived in India this afternoon and will meet with President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi, said he has brought a large business delegation with him to boost trade relations. He added that there has been steady progress in the strategic and global partnership between the two countries. The Japanese premier also said that bilateral cooperation between the defence forces of both countries will contribute to peace and security of the entire region. Responding to Abe, the Indian president stressed on cooperation between India and Japan to ensure the security of sea lanes and the uninterrupted flow of trade. Last year, bilateral trade between India and Japan reached around USD 18.5 billion. Japan ranks fourth in terms of foreign investments in India. It is estimated that during the period of April 2000 to 2013, approximately USD 15 billion was invested from Japan in India through foreign direct investments - accounting for about 7 percent of total investments in India.