Themed “Make in India with Japan for the Globe,” the Summit featured prominent speakers who opined that there were several industry verticals such as defence, aerospace, manufacturing, information technology and chemical industry where both countries could collaborate to further trade and investments.

In his keynote address, Tsutomu Nakane, Consul General of Japan in Bengaluru, said: “Through this summit we aim to explore the abundant range of opportunities in both nations, enabling businesses to flourish and grow. As of October 2022, 228 companies have set up 537 offices all over Karnataka and the number of Japanese companies expanding into Karnataka is also steadily increasing.

“Cooperation between Japan and Karnataka portrays that business is not only important for the development of bilateral relations but is also of great importance to the world. By investing in or setting up industry in India, Japanese companies can expand their exports to Middle East countries and Africa through India.

“Japan-India business cooperation will bring synergy to both economies by combining Japanese manufacturing know-how with India’s information technology capabilities and its abundant talented workforce. To promote such cooperation, it is necessary for Japan to recognize available business opportunities and for India to further improve amenities and infrastructure in and around industrial parks.”

In her keynote address, Geetanjali Kirloskar, Chairperson and MD, Kirloskar Systems Pvt. Ltd and Chairperson, Toyota Tsusho Insurance Broker India Pvt. Ltd, Bengaluru, said, “India has a relatively stable economy, which represents huge growth potential for Japanese companies to set up a very strong, competitive manufacturing supply chain.

“There is a huge potential for the two countries to develop lighthouse projects in industries which present potential for collaboration such as the chemical industry, which is a multi-billion-dollar opportunity. The defence and aero industry which is looking to indigenize sub-assemblies with newer and more autonomous manufacturing processes is another big opportunity.

“Also, Japanese startups are now looking at Bengaluru very seriously. However, there are two challenges, namely the need to develop a quality vendor in India and the need for quality skilling. We still have a lot of hard work to do in improving the skill quality of the workforce.”

Delivering the Inaugural address, Dr L Ravindran, President BCIC said: “Both Japan and India, characterized by their stability and resilience as economies, need to leverage their economic cooperation to foster broader regional growth. The bond between the two countries serves as a remarkable model, rooted in shared values, mutual respect, and a vision for a prosperous future, not only for their nations but for the global community.

“Through joint research and development initiatives, India and Japan can unlock vast potential and propel their economies to unprecedented levels of success. With Japan’s commitment to invest five trillion dollars in India as announced by their former Prime Minister in 2022 there is a huge potential for small and medium enterprises in Japan to collaborate and conduct business with similar enterprises in India.

“It is essential to prioritize specific sectors such as infrastructure, advanced manufacturing, global mobility, information technology and healthcare as they play a pivotal role in shaping their collective future and achieving investment targets.

“BCIC has set up an office in Japan with a three-pronged strategy to promote Karnataka as an investment destination, take a delegation of industrialists from Karnataka to Japan and host a delegation of industrialists from Japan to Karnataka.” he added.

Mukesh Agarwal, Partner, PwC India, said: “Global economic trends position India uniquely for new investments which is essentially driven by India’s enhanced ease of doing business, attractive industrial policies and incentives, production-based incentives to boost manufacturing ecosystem, favourable cost of doing business and India’s highly talented workforce.

“India is witnessing continued interest from Japanese companies and there is a huge potential for collaboration which is much larger than what we see today. Japanese companies can leverage the opportunities emerging in sunrise sectors which are enabling the growth of new investments in India.”

“Setting the context of the summit, A Murali, Advisor, BCIC and Vice President, Toyota Tsusho India Private Limited, said: “The diplomatic relationship between Government of India and Government of Japan is of very high order. This summit offers a unique platform for business leaders, policy makers and academicians to come together and discuss various aspects of economic ties between the two countries and share best business practices. The summit aims to explore new areas of collaboration between the two nations and facilitate exchange of thoughts and people to people contact.”

Thematic sessions at the summit included panel discussions on Unlocking the Secrets of Japanese Manufacturing Excellence, Revolutionizing Global Mobility and Electronics Manufacturing: Collaborative Strategies for India and Japan, Building World-Class Infrastructure for Make in India: A Collaborative Effort between India and Japan and Unleashing India's Talent Pool in IT, Healthcare, and Technology for Japan. The day-long summit was attended by over 200 delegates representing government, Industry, and academia.