SSW Pact: Japan to undertake skill and language tests in India from early 2022
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has held a series of investment promotion and bilateral trade meetings with his counterparts from Australia and Japan as well as corporate leaders on the sidelines of Quad Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC on 23 September 2021. The highlights were business opportunities in India and the economic recovery from slowed down global environments, especially hit by the heavy impact of COVID-19.
In his discussion with Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Modi appreciated the great advances in the India-Japan Special Strategic & Global Partnership over the last few years.
The two Prime Ministers reviewed the multi-faceted relationship between the two countries and exchanged views on recent global and regional developments, reaffirming commitment towards a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. They agreed to enhance bilateral security and defence cooperation, including in the area of defence equipment and technologies.
The Prime Ministers welcomed the increasing economic engagement between the two countries and the launch of the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) between India, Japan and Australia earlier this year as a collaborative mechanism to enable resilient, diversified and trustworthy supply chains.
Modi highlighted the need to develop bilateral partnerships in manufacturing, MSME sector and skill development.
Suga informed Modi that in order to operationalize the Specified Skilled Workers (SSW) agreement, signed earlier this year, the Japanese side would be undertaking skill and language tests in India from early 2022.
The Prime Ministers highlighted the increasing importance of digital technologies and evaluated the progress in the India-Japan Digital Partnership, especially in start-ups. They exchanged views on further collaboration in various emerging technologies.
Discussions also took place on climate change issues and green energy transition, as well as the potential for Japanese collaboration with India’s National Hydrogen Energy Mission, said a release from The Prime Minister’s Office.
The Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to advance efforts to facilitate the smooth and timely implementation of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project.
The two leaders also welcomed the progress in bilateral developmental projects in India’s North Eastern Region under the India-Japan Act East Forum, and noted possibilities for further enhancement of such cooperation.
Prime Minister Suga, who is stepping down this month, expressed confidence that the strong momentum attained by the India-Japan partnership in the last few years will continue even under the new administration in Japan. Prime Minister Modi conveyed that he looks forward to welcoming the next Prime Minister of Japan to India for India-Japan Annual Summit in the near future.
Modi and the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison discussed the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and the recently held first India-Australia Foreign and Defence Ministers’ 2+2 Dialogue.
The two leaders resolved to continue close cooperation for mutual well-being and towards advancing their shared objective of an open, free, prosperous and rules-based Indo-Pacific region.
They expressed satisfaction at the ongoing negotiations on a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) and noted the commitment of both sides to achieve an early harvest announcement on an interim agreement by December 2021.
The Prime Ministers underlined the need for the international community to address the issue of Climate Change on an urgent basis. Modi highlighted the need for a broader dialogue on environment protection. Both leaders also discussed possibilities of providing clean technologies.
Both leaders lauded the immense contribution of the Indian diaspora to Australia’s economy and society, and discussed ways to enhance people to people ties.
Prime Minister Modi renewed his invitation to Prime Minister Morrison to visit India.
Modi also discussed business and investment opportunities with heads of the US-based corporations.
In his meeting with Mark Widmar, CEO of First Solar, Modi talked about India’s renewable energy landscape, particularly solar energy potential, and India’s target of 450 GW electricity generation from renewable sources by 2030.
Modi and Widmar also discussed First Solar’s interest in setting up manufacturing facilities in India using their unique thin-film technology by availing the recently launched Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, as well integrating India into global supply chains.
Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder of Blackstone, briefed the Prime Minister about Blackstone’s ongoing projects in India and the group’s interest in further investments in the infrastructure and real estate sectors. Promising investment opportunities in India including those under National Infrastructure Pipeline and National Monetisation Pipeline were also discussed
Modi and Vivek Lall, Chief Executive of General Atomics Global Corporation, spoke about strengthening the defence technology sector in India. Lall appreciated the recent policy changes to accelerate defence and emerging technology manufacturing and augment capacity building in India.
Modi discussed with Cristiano Amon, CEO of Qualcomm, investment opportunities offered by India’s telecommunications and electronics sector. This included the recently launched PLI for Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) as well as developments in the semiconductor supply chain in India. Strategies for building the local innovation ecosystem in India were also discussed.
Modi also discussed Adobe’s ongoing collaboration and future investment plans in India with Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe. Their talks focused on India’s flagship programme Digital India, and use of emerging technologies in sectors like health, education and R&D. #investment #projects #infrastructure #manufacturing #exports /fiinews.com
