Tidal wave hits Japan, but ties with India seen safe

The tsunami in Japan is unlikely to have any major impact on trade and investment between India and the far-eastern country. HT reports. Naturally Nippon: a vital partner for India

The tsunami in Japan is unlikely to have any major impact on trade and investment between India and the far-eastern country.

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Japanese companies have invested heavily in India-especially in automobiles, engineering and electronics space- but it is unlikely that the latest natural calamity will have any major impact on planned Japanese investment into India, a top government official, who did not wish to be identified, said.

Planning commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia was more circumspect. "I won't speculate. It is very difficult to say whether it will have impact for a year as whole or not, it is difficult to project," he said on Friday.

Japanese companies are also planning major investments on the proposed the 1,483-km Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, for which India and Japan had inked an agreement in December 2009 with an initial corpus Rs 1,000 crore (about $212 milion) with equal contribution.

"The tsunami will not affect the project," the official said.

Japan is India's fourth largest trading partner-after China, USA and the UK. It is also the sixth-largest source of foreign direct investment in India.