A total of six agreements were signed during the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit, which covered the domains of cybersecurity, infrastructure development, and urban development.
Here is the list of six agreements.
1. Memorandum of Cooperation in the field of Cybersecurity
This agreement concerns information sharing, capacity building programs, and cooperation in the domain of cybersecurity.
2. Seven loans from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
This agreement included seven loans from JICA worth Rs 20,400 crores for projects in connectivity, water supply and sewerage, horticulture, healthcare, and biodiversity conservation across India. The individual projects are:
- Dedicated Freight Corridor Project - Phase 2
- North East Road Network Connectivity Improvement Project - Phase 6
- Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewerage Project - Phase 3
- Uttarakhand Integrated Horticulture Development Project
- Strengthening Health Systems and Excellence of Medical Education in Assam
- Tamil Nadu Biodiversity Conservation and Greening Project - Phase 2
- Chennai Metro - Phase 2
3. An amendment to India-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement
These amendments signed on Saturday would allow the fish surimi product of India with the non-originating additive to be considered as an originating good of India.
4. Memorandum of Cooperation on Decentralised Domestic Wastewater Management
This agreement will work towards bringing in India the "Johkasou" technology by Japanese companies for decentralised wastewater treatment. This technology is used in areas where sewage infrastructure has not yet been developed.
5. India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership Roadmap
This agreement is a working roadmap to the Memorandum of Cooperation on India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership that was signed in November 2021.
The agreement signed on Saturday seeks to address issues that Japanese companies currently face in India through a fast-track mechanism. Working Groups have been formed in various industrial sectors as required. Cooperation in Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector and supply chain concerns are within the scope of the agreement.
6. Memorandum of Cooperation on Sustainable Urban Development
This agreement builds on the Memorandum of Understanding on Urban Development that was signed in 2007. This includes smart cities development, affordable housing, urban flood management, wastewater management, Intelligent Transport Management System, etc.
Other announcements: $42 billion investment, clean energy partnership, projects for Northeast India
Besides these six agreements, three other key announcements were made on Saturday, which touched investments and developmental projects.
1. $42 billion Japanese investment in India
Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio announced that Japan's government and private sector would invest $42 billion (5 trillion Yen) in India in next five years.
This is a follow-up of the realisation of earlier Japanese investment target of 3.5 trillion Yen that was set in 2014.
"The new ambitious target would provide a scope for greater involvement of Japanese companies in our economy," said India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
2. Clean Energy Partnership
This partnership will be executed through the existing Energy Dialogue.
This will cover areas as electric vehicles, storage systems including batteries, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, development of solar energy; hydrogen; ammonia; etc.
"The objective is to encourage manufacturing in India, creation of resilient and trustworthy supply chains in these areas as well as fostering collaboration in research and development," said MEA.
3. Sustainable Development Initiative for the North Eastern Region of India
This includes both ongoing projects and possible future cooperation in various Northeastern states in areas such as connectivity, healthcare, new and renewable energy, as well as bamboo supply chain.
