Nagoya, Japan, Aug. 26: Stating that India is the world’s fastest-growing major economy and is poised for decades of rapid growth, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Wednesday called on Japanese industry and local leaders to deepen bilateral trade and manufacturing cooperation, urging businesses to expand their presence in India’s growing industrial ecosystem.
Addressing the “Celebrating India-Japan Next Generation Economic Partnership” event in Nagoya, Goyal called on the Central Japan Economic Federation (Chukeiren) to bring Japanese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into India’s new industrial corridors.
He urged the Nagoya Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) to establish an Indian presence in its sister-chamber network and send an investment survey mission to India.
The minister also called for stronger municipal and industrial partnerships between Nagoya and Indian cities, including Bengaluru, Mumbai, Rajkot, Pune and Ludhiana.
“Let me conclude by making four specific requests. One, to Chukeiren, bring your SMEs into our Japanese industrial townships along our new industrial corridors. Let Central Japan Vision 2050 write its next story in India,” Goyal said.
“Two, to NCCI, your sister-chamber network today reaches Los Angeles, Mexico City, Sydney, Lille and Torino, but does not have any Indian address. Let us correct that this year. Send your investment survey mission to India and explore the possibilities,” he added.
Goyal further urged Nagoya to explore partnerships with major Indian industrial centers and welcomed the planned visit of seven Japanese businesses to Bengaluru next month.
“Three, Deputy Mayor, while we welcome the visit of your seven businesses coming to Bengaluru next month, we would like you to explore Nagoya’s partnership potentially with Bengaluru, with Mumbai, with Rajkot, with Pune, with Ludhiana,” he said.
He also urged Japanese businesses to communicate their concerns directly to the Indian government during Japan Business Week.
“Four, tell us your concerns. Japan Business Week is bringing senior officials directly across the table from you to hear your concerns and act on them,” Goyal said.
The minister highlighted India’s strong economic growth and said the country was expected to remain a key global growth engine over the next two decades.
“India is the world’s fastest-growing large economy today. We just saw last year’s growth of 7.7%. The current year will continue that rapid pace of growth, and we expect the next 20, 25 years of continuous growth in India, leading the global growth as a growth engine,” he said.
Goyal also highlighted India’s expanding power infrastructure and clean energy capacity.
“Our electricity grid is already a 520-gigawatt single grid on one frequency across the country, with nearly 60%, or 300 gigawatts, of clean energy and expected to grow in the next seven to eight years into a 1,000-gigawatt grid with 700 gigawatts of clean energy,” he said.
The Commerce Minister is in Japan from Aug. 24 to 27, leading a business delegation of around 200 members. The four-day visit covers Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka, with participation from sectors including manufacturing, semiconductors, clean energy, steel, automobiles, financial services, health care and startups.
India-Japan bilateral trade stood at $27.47 billion in fiscal year 2025-26. India’s imports from Japan were $21.43 billion, while exports to Japan stood at $6.04 billion.
Japan accounts for 1.75% of India’s total trade, making it India’s 10th-largest trading partner, while India accounts for 2.26% of Japan’s total trade, ranking 14th.
India accounts for 2.61% of Japan’s total exports and ranks eighth, while Japan accounts for 1.37% of India’s total exports and ranks 21st.
In terms of imports, India ranks 22nd among Japan’s trading partners, with a 0.98% share, while Japan ranks 10th among India’s import partners, with a 2.76% share. (ANI)
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