Author: India Writes Network

India, Japan to galvanise Modi-Abe agenda

- by India Writes Network

Building upon the famed Modi-Abe bonding during their much-publicised meeting in August last year, India and Japan have moved into 2015 with an ambitious mandate to fructify the next steps in their multifarious relationship.
The foreign ministers of India and Japan are set to hold their next round of strategic dialogue as New Delhi hosts Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kashida, the first high-level visit from Tokyo after the elections in Japan that brought Shinzo Abe to power with a brutal majority.
During their talks on January 16, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Japanese counterpart are expected to review all aspects of the blossoming relationship, which has been galvanised with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal touch and investment in what the new dispensation in Delhi has identified as a major priority country for India in the years ahead.
The two foreign ministers will review the status of outcomes, including doubling of investment, during Mr Modi’s visit to Japan in September last year, Syed Akbaruddin, the spokesperson of India’s external affairs ministry, said ahead of the trip.
In the strategic sphere, the two countries are looking to collaborate closely in shaping an inclusive Asia-Pacific architecture, a strategic imperative which has been accentuated by China’s perceived assertiveness in the region.

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Modi mantra: Making India the easiest place for doing business

- by India Writes Network

Putting India on the global investment map, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promised to make the country the “easiest” destination to do business, which would blend a stable tax regime with a predictable, transparent and fair policy environment.
Unveiling immense possibilities the country’s growing economy offers to the world, Mr Modi, with UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon and US Secretary of State John Kerry sharing the dais, assured investors that the government will “hold your hands whenever needed.” “If you walk one step, we will walk two steps for you,” the prime minister said at the 7th edition of the ‘Vibrant Gujarat’ summit, a biennial show hosted by the Gujarat government since 2003, which has morphed into a must-attend event for top global companies looking to invest in Gujarat and in India. “This event is perhaps the biggest gathering on earth where a budding entrepreneur has opportunity to see President of the World Bank. We are here as a family, not only in terms of space, but because we recognise that someone’s dream is dependent on someone’s direction. All of us want the planet earth to become a better place to live not only in terms of space, but also because we recognise someone’s dream.”
“India offers you 3Ds – Democracy, Demography and Demand and this is what you are looking for. You will not find all of them (3D’s) together at any other destination of world. We have a large number of hands to work and even a larger number of dreams to be realised,” he said.

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