The announcement came after a dialogue between the Odisha government and Japan. A delegation of top state officials visited Japan last October.
A state delegation will visit Japan later this month to follow up on conversations with prospective Japanese investors and showcase investment opportunities in Odisha across all six focus sectors – food processing and seafood, chemicals, plastics and petrochemicals, ancillary and downstream industries in the metals sector, electronics manufacturing, textiles and apparel and tourism.
Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “We are pleased to have Japan as the Country Partner for the event. This will provide a new impetus to the relations between Odisha and Japan and open up varied sectors for collaboration. We also appreciate SBI (State Bank of India) coming on board as the banking partner for the event.”
Commenting on the development, Sanjeev Chopra, principal secretary (industries), said, “Japan will be the Country Partner for Make in Odisha Conclave 2018 as we would like a deeper engagement with Japan in diverse sectors such as industry, tourism, culture, sports and heritage. Japanese investors such as Nissin and Krosaki have been operating in Odisha successfully for many years now. We have also identified 600 acres of land near Bhubaneswar which can be developed as a multi-product dedicated industrial park for Japanese companies.”
As the banking partner, SBI intends to introduce a slew of products and services to cater to not just the financial needs of large corporates but also Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Self Help Groups (SHGs), who are the main drivers of job creation in Odisha.
 "Naveen Patnaik Pic: Twitter")