Tulsi Tanti, Hari Bhartia, Parimal Nathwani and other CEOs to accompany Narendra Modi to Japan

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi will lead a delegation of top industrialists from the state to Japan next week and hardsell Gujarat as an investment destination. Reliance Industries vice-president Parimal Nathwani, Suzlon group chairman Tulsi Tanti, Torrent chairman Sudhir Mehta, Bharat Forge ED Sunil Chaturvedi, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corpation CEO Amitabh Kant, and Jubilant Life Sciences co-chairman Hari Bhartia will accompany Modi during the five-day trip beginning July 22.

The delegation will visit Tokyo, Kobe, Osaka and Nagoya, a government official said. Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and Zydus Cadila Group chairman Pankaj Patel have not yet confirmed their participation. The visit comes after an invitation from the Japanese government. The delegation will seek Japan's enhanced cooperation for the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit scheduled for January 11-13, 2013. Japan was earlier associated with event. The delegation will have meetings Japanese prime minister, deputy prime minister, trade minister, foreign affairs minister and officials of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

A Gujarat Investment Seminar will be attended by officials of Japanese companies, office bearers of Japan-India Friendship League as well as with trade and civil organisations. Other industry players to accompany Modi on Japan trip include Manmohan Mallik, chairman of Himalya International; Umesh Sahara, MD of Indian Steel Corporation; Piyush Shah, chairman of CII-Gujarat; Arup Basu, president of Tata Chemicals; Sunil Pandey, executive VP of L&T and Harsh Kumar, MD of Mahindra Group. Officials of Japanese companies posted in India too will be a part of the visiting delegation. They include GM of Mizuho Bank general manager Eiji Sasaki and Itochu India chairman Ichiro Shimizu. Gujarat is coming up with a Special Investment Region (SIR) at Dholera for the Japanese companies who have been investing in Gujarat.

Hitachi manufactures air conditioners at Kadi and is setting up Asia's largest sea water desalination plant in Gujarat. Car-maker Maruti Suzuki will be setting up its facility at Bechraji. Modi has been maintaining contacts with political leaders of Japan. Earlier, he had presented a copy of his book 'Convinient Action' to Japan's former Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and met another former Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.