Innovation seminar held in India welcoming PM Abe

December 2015

During the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to India, JETRO organized a seminar under the keyword “innovation” in New Delhi on December 11. The seminar was held with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the New Energy and Industrial Development Organization (NEDO) attracting approximately 450 business people from Japan and India.

In his opening remarks, JETRO President Yasushi Akahoshi stated that business cooperation taking advantage of the strengths of both countries, expansion of two-way trade and investment and collaboration in third countries or wider areas beyond the framework of the two countries would be essential to improve our economic relations to the next stage. To that end, he continued that the seeking for new possibilities from the perspective of innovation would be crucial.

In the following three sessions a total of 20 speakers, including executives of major Japanese companies and representatives from Japanese ministries, institutions and universities as well as the Indian Government, made presentations on their initiatives toward enhancing economic relations of both countries

In the closing session, Prime Minister Abe, who was welcomed by the representatives from three Indian economic associations (CII, FICCI and ASSOCHAM), expressed the importance of relations between the two countries in Japan’s Growth Strategy as well as the significance of high quality infrastructure partnerships and cooperation in science and technology. In addition, he made a direct appeal to the audience to “Come, invest in Japan!” in response to a prior statement given by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Japan.

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Opening remarks by JETRO President Akahoshi

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Speech by PM Abe

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PM Abe and representatives of three Indian business associations (From the left: ASSOCHAM President Kanoria, CII President Mazumder, FICCI President Elect Neotia)

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Scene of venue

Outline

Japan-India Innovation Seminar
Date December 11, 2015
Venue  Taj Palace Hotel (New Delhi)
Organizer Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
Co-organizer Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)
Partner organization  Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM)
Program Opening session
Welcome address: Mr. Yasushi Akahoshi, President, JETRO

Session 1: Japan-India Science and Technology Cooperation
-Mr. Kazuo Todani, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), Japan
-Dr. Michinari Hamaguchi, President, JST
-Dr. Ken Furuya, Professor & Executive Vice President, Tokyo University
-Dr. Mikio Yoshida, Chancellor, Ritsumeikan Trust
-Dr. Masanori Yamauchi, Director General, High Energy Accelerator Research Organization
-Prof. Asako Omi, Secretary General, Science and Technology in Society Forum
-Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, India        

Session 2: Japan-India Industrial Innovation, Changing the Global Picture!
-Dr. Ryoji Chubachi, President, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
-Mr. Tetsuya Shoji, President & CEO, NTT Communications Corporation
-Mr. Kaoru Yano, Chairman of the Board, NEC Corporation
-Dr. Haruo Naito, Representative Corporate Officer & CEO, Eisai Co., Ltd.
-Mr. Shigehiro Nakajima, President & COO, Fujifilm Corporation
-Mr. Tadashi Suzuki, Executive Director, Japan Fruit Growers Cooperative Association
-Mr. Amitabh Kant, Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India            

Session 3: Superior Japanese Infrastructure and its Contribution to India
-Mr. Tetsuro Tomita, President & CEO, East Japan Railway Company
-Mr. Yoshiaki Fujimori, President & CEO, LIXIL Group Corporation
-Mr. Kazuo Furukawa, Chairman, NEDO 
-Mr. Hiroshi Hirose, CEO & President, East Nippon Expressway Company Limited
-Mr. Hiroaki Nakanishi, Chairman & CEO, Hitachi Ltd.
-Mr. Girish Pillai, Advisor (Infrastructure), Railway Board, Ministry of Railways, India  

Closing session
-Keynote Address: HE Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan, accompanied by
-Mr. Sumit Mazumder, President, CII
-Mr. Harshavardhan Neotia, President Elect, FICCI
-Mr. Sunil Kanoria, President, ASSOCHAM 
No. of attendees Approximately 450