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Japan has asked India to allow Japanese companies to resume their work in India. This comes as India witnessed a surge in the number of coronavirus patients and is currently under lockdown 3.0, The Wire reported.
Japanese foreign minister Motegi Toshimitsu delivered the message to India’s external affairs minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday, as per the statement released by the Japanese foreign ministry.
After receiving the message Jaishankar tweeted that their discussion “also dwelled on economic recovery challenges including supply chain resilience.”
The Japanese foreign ministry’s press release gave a glimpse of Tokyo’s priorities in the phone call. “He also requested cooperation for the resumption of activities by Japanese companies in India,” said the statement cited in the Wire report.
Around 1,400 Japanese firms are currently working directly or indirectly in India.
Senior Indian government sources quoted in the Wire report said on Friday that New Delhi values the contribution of Japanese companies in India. “We understand there have been some disruptions. We are working with companies to address their concerns. As we go into post lockdown gradually depending on the COVID-19 situation, solutions to their issues will be found,” he said.
This is the second time, Japan has expressed its concerns over India’s restrictions on trade and industries.
In March, Japan asked India to review its decisions of barring foreign nationals to make their way into the country and canceling e-visas of al Japanese nationals. In the initial days of the pandemic, India had canceled visas validities of Japan, together with Iran, Italy, and South Korea.
According to media reports, Japan had told India that the blanket ban on visas would hurt economic engagement, including work on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai High-Speed Rail.
Japan is also involved in the development of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC), the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor with 12 industrial townships and the Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor (CBIC).
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