Narendra Modi to take top business honchos to Japan

NEW DELHI: The high-profile composition of the business delegation set to accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Japan points to new vistas of cooperation between the two nations, in areas ranging from manufacturing to hydrocarbon and technology.

Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Managalam Birla, Sunil Bharti Mittal, Gautam Adani, Dilip Shanghvi, Azim Premji, S Ramadorai, Chanda Kochhar and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw are some of the prominent names on the list.

“This is the most-high-powered delegation that has travelled with any Indian PM in recent years,” said a government official who did not wish to be named. “It will bring new energy in India-Japan ties. The delegation represents all corners of the country and covers almost all aspects of the economy.

These business leaders will help to realise the PM’s dream of taking India-Japan ties to the next level.”

According to sources, the Prime Minister’s Office has pruned the list, dropping at least Adi Godrej, S Gopalakrishnan and Deepak Puri from it. An official downplayed dropping of the names, saying that with any change of guard at the Centre there are changes in the composition of delegations travelling with the PM. The idea is to get additional Japanese business to India and to see who can partner major Indian business firms to make entry here, another official said.

The business delegation will attend the the India Japan Business Forum. The PM said he sees the trip as an opportunity to take India’s ties with Japan “to a new level” and increase cooperation in various fields. “I will visit Tokyo and Kyoto, and will interact with all sections of the Japanese society, from students, political leaders to captains of industry,” he said on Tuesday.