The Ambassador of Japan Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu called on the Union Minister of State (I/C) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh, here today. The Japanese Ambassador has spent about 3 years and 11 months in India and his tenure in India witnessed the unprecedented transformation of India-Japan relationship under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe.
During the meeting, the Minister discussed various projects from J&K, Ladakh and North East region. Dr. Jitendra Singh mentioned the training of Nursing Care Workers (NCW). He said that under the Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP), 12 candidates from Jammu have been selected in Japanese companies. The Ambassador assured to extend the TITP program in the North-Eastern region with the participation of the Government of Japan. The Minister proposed that in the future, 100 students can be taken under the TITP program from Ladakh as well, with 50 each from Leh and Kargil respectively.
The Minister said that a huge headway has been made in the level of collaboration in various fields such as bullet trains, nuclear, space technology, and railways. Dr. Jitendra Singh said that Japan shares an emotional and historical relationship with India, especially in the North East. He added that Japan has specialization in food processing units. He said that there is huge potential for opening specialized food parks for J&K apples, cherry, strawberry, and Ladakh berry, on the lines of citrus fruit parks in North East. Dr. Singh said that substantial engagement and investment has been done by Japan in the North East under the Modi Government, especially in the state of Manipur.
The Minister congratulated the Japanese Ambassador for his successful tenure in India and his contribution towards realization of the vision of the two leaders. He mentioned that Mr Hiramatsu’s tenure saw some major achievements, such as conclusion of a bilateral Nuclear Deal (December, 2016), establishment of Digital and Health Partnerships (October, 2018), agreement on commencement of ACSA negotiations (October, 2018), agreement on Japanese Language Education in India and Disaster Risk Reduction (September, 2017). The Minister particularly thanked the Ambassador for his contribution in the establishment of the India-Japan Act East Forum which is an important mechanism for synergising India’s “Act East Policy” and Japan’s “Free and Open Indo-Pacific Strategy”. Speaking about the Act East Forum, the Minister said that the Forum has brought all the relevant stakeholders together, and synergised towards the implementation of ongoing and new projects in the North-East region.
The Minister wished that Mr. Kenji Hiramatsu’s successor would continue working with the same commitment and help in realising the true potential of India-Japan Special Strategic partnership.
