Japan to invest $42 billion in India over next five years

New Delhi: Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Saturday announced a 5 trillion yen or Rs 3.2 lakh crore ($42 billion) investment in India over the next five years during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi.

Kishida’s 5-trillion yen goal exceeds the 3.5-trillion yen in investment and financing over the five years that the then Japanese PM Shinzo Abe had announced during his 2014 visit to India, as per Japan’s Nikkei newspaper.

The two sides also inked six agreements providing for the expansion of bilateral cooperation in a range of areas, including cyber security, capacity building, information sharing and cooperation. They also firmed a separate clean energy partnership.

The two leaders were meeting to strengthen the security architecture in the backdrop of the raging Ukraine crisis and improve economic ties between the two nations.

At a joint media briefing, Modi said deepening India-Japan ties will not only benefit the two countries but will also help in encouraging peace, prosperity and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Kishida said the situation in Ukraine following the Russian invasion figured in the talks and described Moscow's actions against the eastern European country as a serious matter that has shaken the basis of international norms.

Unilateral attempts to change the status quo using force should not be allowed, he said.

(The two countries are also partners in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, a security framework known as the Quad that includes the US and Australia.)

“The whole world has been shaken due to many disturbances, it’s very important for India and Japan to have a close partnership. We expressed our views, talked about the serious invasion of Russia into Ukraine. We need a peaceful solution on the basis of international law,” Kishida said.

Modi said India and Japan understand the importance of secure, trusted, predictable and stable energy supply and that both sides are determined to expand overall cooperation.

Japan in recent years has supported India's urban infrastructure development and the high-speed railway based on its bullet train technology.

This year also marks the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.