1. Outline of the meeting

On February 28, the Fifth India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership (IJICP) vice minister/secretary-level meeting was held. This was the first such meeting held in Tokyo.
About 80 delegates participated in this meeting. Participants from Japan included representatives from METI, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, JETRO, NEXI, NEDO, JBIC, and JICA. A delegation from the Government of India comprised of representatives from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the Ministry of Steel, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the Ministry of Power, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, the Ministry of Heavy Industries, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Textiles, the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, and Indian Rare Earths Limited.
The meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Hirai Hirohide, Vice-Minister for International Affairs of METI, and Mr. Anurag Jain, Secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry of India. They reviewed the progress of sector-wise working groups including logistics and MSMEs under the IJICP Roadmap, which was formulated during the Japan-India Summit Meeting in March 2022 in order to strengthen industrial cooperation between the two countries. They also agreed to further work on the improvement of the business environment in India as well as industrial cooperation including investment promotion of both countries in order to achieve the target of 5 trillion yen of investment and financing over the next five years as agreed to during the summit meeting.

2. India-Japan Industrial Competitiveness Partnership

IJICP is the secretary/vice-minister level framework launched in December 2019 by Mr. Kajiyama Hiroshi, former Minister of METI and H.E. Mr. Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry. Under this framework, sector-wise working groups have been established, and discussions and initiatives for enhancement of India's industrial competitiveness have been implemented.

▶Related Release:

• METI Minister Kajiyama Visits India (December 10, 2019)

Division in Charge

Southwest Asia Office, Trade Policy Bureau