PM looks forward to closer ties with Japan in setting up skill development centres in India

Asserting that Japan's contribution to India's economic development has been enormous, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has said he was looking forward to a closer partnership with Japan in setting up skill development centres in India.

Speaking during the luncheon hosted by Nippon Keidanren, the Japan Business Federation, Dr. Singh said: "Skill development is a key national priority in India to power our industrial growth and to create opportunities and employment for India's vast youth population."

"We look to closer partnership with Japan in setting up skill development centres in India, just as we are also collaborating on a new generation Indian Institute of Technology in Hyderabad," he added.

Stating that India-Japan partnership has never been more important to our two countries than it is today, Dr. Singh said: " It is rich with possibilities. A stronger commercial partnership between our two countries should be the corner stone of our relationship."

"It would not only contribute to each other's economic growth, but will also be in the strategic interest of India and Japan. It will also contribute to wider and enduring prosperity in Asia and beyond," he added.

Dr. Singh further said that for the past few years, we have been engaged in an India-Japan Energy Dialogue to address some of our shared challenges in the area of energy security, including the issue of access to assured, reliable, secure and affordable supply of hydrocarbons.

"Japanese investments in India in the areas of solar power generation, clean coal technologies and upgrading of brown coal would be greatly welcome. We also look forward to Japanese involvement in the setting up of a gas hydrate R and D Centre," he said.

"One of the outcomes of the Energy Dialogue is that an exhibition on clean and renewable energy technology from Japan will be held in India in September this year. I hope this will be an opportunity for a large number of Japanese companies to display their products and technologies, and for Indian companies to build partnerships in this very important area," he added.

Emphasising that India and Japan are both major importers of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG), Dr. Singh said: "I am happy that a study is being conducted by research institutions in India and Japan on LNG pricing for Asian importers and will be ready by the end of the year.