Sixth India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership Vice Minister/Secretary-Level Meeting Held

Overview of the meeting

On Friday, June 28, METI and the government of India held the Sixth IJICP Vice Minister/Secretary-Level Meeting in Delhi after four years from the last meeting held in that city.

Representatives from various Japanese government ministries and organizations, including METI, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, as well as governmental organizations such as JETRO, NEDO, JBIC, and JICA, participated in this meeting, both in-person and online.

From India, representatives from MoCI, the Ministry of Steel, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Textiles, and the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises were present. In total, approximately 50 representatives from both countries participated in the meeting.

The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Hosaka Shin, then Vice-Minister for International Affairs, METI, and Mr. Rajesh Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, MoCI. The two sides welcomed the launch of the agricultural working group and confirmed the progress made by sector-wise working groups, including those on Japan Industrial Townships and MSMEs, as efforts to enhance industrial cooperation between Japan and India.

Furthermore, as an effort for achieving the goal of public-private investment and loans to India at the level of 5 trillion yen for the coming five years, which was agreed at the Japan-India summit meeting held in 2022, the two sides agreed to further promote industrial cooperation, including human resource development, and the improvement of the business environment in India in order to encourage Japan to invest there.

Moreover, the two sides exchanged views on: cooperation in cutting-edge fields, including semiconductors, digital technology, and clean energy, to cultivate future industries between Japan and India; human resource exchange and development in these fields; and cooperation to help Japanese companies to roll out in other countries the goods and services that they have produced in India as outcomes brought about by the enhanced industrial competitiveness of India, which are efforts to be taken under the Initiative for Japan-India Industry Co-Creation that METI released in July 2023.

Reference: India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership

The IJICP is a secretary/vice-minister level framework launched in December 2019 by Mr. Kajiyama Hiroshi, then Minister of METI, and H.E. Mr. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry. Under this framework, sector-wise working groups have been established, and discussions and initiatives for the enhancement of India's industrial competitiveness have been implemented.

Related Link

• METI Minister Nishimura Visits Delhi, India (July 23, 2023)

Division in Charge

Southwest Asia Office, Trade Policy Bureau