Japan-India ties should move beyond ODA to co-creation: Tewari

Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari today called for revisiting the parameters of India-Japan relationship, stressing the need for moving beyond ODA (overseas development assistance) to co-creation.

Delivering the keynote address at a seminar to close the anniversary of 60-years of Japan-India diplomatic relations, Mr Tewari said there was a "great creative potential" for both the countries, and the steps like establishment of the Mumbai-Delhi corridor and the proposed Bangalore-Chennai-Mumbai corridor are steps in the right direction.

Noting that "Indo-Pacific is a reality today" and Japan is "a neighbour of sorts", Mr. Tewari told the seminar, titled "India-Japan Bilateral Portrayals: Mutual Perception and Image Formation", organised by Observer Research Foundation and the Japanese Embassy, that there is a need to "move out of the existing paradigms and basing of industries".

Tewari said the paradigm should be shifted to areas like joint industrial development, making use of the advantages of both the countries - investment and technology of Japan and the demographic advantage of India.

The minister also stressed on the need to move towards multi-lateral paradigms to leverage peace and stability not only in the region but also in the world.

He said we should also focus on two-way traffic of inter-polation of ideas with greater and robust trajectory and use the power of ideas for a stable and peaceful world.

Japan's Ambassador to India Takeshi Yagi agreed with Tewari that Japan and India should work for ensuring stability and peace in the India-Pacific as well as the world.

Stressing the need for further strengthening the relationship, the Ambassador said he was sure that the bilateral relationship will remain unchanged though the country is going to polls in the next 10 days and a new government will come to power.
The Ambassador noted that the FDI from Japan has become ten-fold while India has also become the 4th largest ODA recipient.

Mr. Vikram Sood, Vice President of the ORF Centre for International Relations, said though the bilateral relations now have enlarged into a strategic partnership since 2000, there is still scope for widening cooperation - like in the field of civil nuclear cooperation.

The one-day seminar had two sessions - one on "National portrayals: Reflection in the history and its evolution" and another on "People's images: Lively impressions in businesses and media". Former Indian Ambassadors to Japan, Mr. Arjun Asrani and Mr. H.K. Singh, scholars, experts, business leaders and students from India and Japan took part in the conference.