India, Japan to work on rare earth sector

In the wake of China tightening its export, India and Japan have agreed for joint development of rare mineral deposits on Saturday.

In the wake of China tightening its export, India and Japan have agreed for joint development of rare mineral deposits on Saturday.

HT Image

Japan indicated at moving forward on the civil nuclear cooperation negotiations besides reiterating support for the bullet trains in India as external affairs minister SM Krishna held 5th round of India-Japan strategic dialogue in Tokyo on Saturday. Krishna also pitched for bilateral naval exercises, and defence minister AK Antony will be visiting Japan soon.

Japan's high technology industry makes it the world's largest importer of rare earths required for products ranging from computers to mobile phones to military hardware. And Japan has been seeking alternative sours after China reduced shipments last year. China produces over 90% of such minerals.

India's move also comes after Japan has removed seven Indian entities from its Foreign End User List this year, including Indian Rare Earths Limited.

"The government of Japan has removed seven Indian entities from its Foreign End User List this year. This will boost high-technology trade between us. One of the entities removed from this list is Indian Rare Earths Limited. We now look forward to greater cooperation between Indian and Japanese firms in the rare earth sector," external affairs minister S M Krishna said.

Both countries will also move forward with talks on the civilian nuclear cooperation. The negotiations for the pact are stalled following quake and tsunami in northeast Japan causing Fukushima nuclear power plant accident.

"After my discussions today, I am optimistic on this score," Krishna said.