Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) Seeking to step up strategic ties with India, Japan Wednesday announced $4.5 billion for the landmark Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor project and agreed to step up negotiations for a civil nuclear deal, but made it clear that New Delhi has to square up with non-proliferation norms.

In key steps that are expected to push the burgeoning bilateral ties into a new trajectory, India and Japan decided to enhance the quantum of currency swap arrangement to $15 billion, agreed to launch a ministerial business-government policy dialogue and to step up collaboration in developing high-speed rail networks in India.

The two sides decided to pursue talks on a new industrial corridor between Chennai and Bangalore, India’s emerging economic hub where Japanese companies have made large investments. Closer collaboration in infrastructure development figured prominently in the discussions, with concrete commitments from the Japanese side.

Besides $4.5 billion for the DMIC, Japan also pledged 134.288 billion yen loans for two new projects, including the Delhi Mass Rapid Transport System Project Phase III and theWest Bengal Forest and Biodoversity Conservation Project.

Resolving to expand cooperation in anti-piracy and maritime security, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his visiting Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda also held talks on a wide spectrum of regional and global issues, including UN reforms, climate change, non-proliferation and the situation in Afghanistan and North Korea.

The talks between the two leaders also gave a push to civil nuclear negotiations that stalled after the March 11 Fukushima disaster.

“The cooperation with India regarding peaceful uses of nuclear energy is conducive to our efforts to address climate change and to strengthen the global partnership with India,” Noda said at a joint press conference with Manmohan Singh after the talks.

Noda, however, did not spell out when the negotiations will be resumed and reminded India about its voluntary commitment on a moratorium on nuclear testing.

“We shall proceed with negotiations while giving due consideration to security, non-proliferation and disarmament,” Noda, who is on his maiden visit to India, said.

The Japanese prime minister stressed the importance of bringing into force the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) at an early date, a joint statement issued after the talks said. Manmohan Singh reiterated India’s commitment to a unilateral and voluntary moratorium on testing.

“As part of our energy cooperation, we reviewed the ongoing discussions on furthering civil nuclear cooperation between our countries. These are moving in the right direction,” Manmohan Singh said.

“The two prime ministers welcomed the progress made to date in negotiations between India and Japan on an agreement for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and directed their negotiators to exert further efforts towards a conclusion of the agreement, having due regard to each side’s relevant interests, including nuclear safety,” the joint statement said.

The Japanese leader also promised to share lessons in nuclear safety in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.

“We believe it is the duty of Japan to share the experiences and lessons learnt from the nuclear power plant accident and to improve nuclear security around the world,” he said.

India and Japan have already held three round of civil nuclear negotiations, but the talks stalled after the Fukushima incident, fuelling security concerns in that country.

Earlier, while delivering a lecture on India-Japan relations, Noda had welcomed progress in nuclear negotiations and hoped that “mutually acceptable results will be achieved”.

“Japan was the only country exposed to nuclear attack. Disarmament and non-proliferation is the tenet of the country. This is a matter of national sentiment,” Noda said.

He was referring to strong anti-nuclear sentiments in Japan, a pacifist country known for its stringent non-proliferation norms, which intensified after the Fukushima disaster.

The nuclear deal with Japan will enable India to implement its atomic deal with the US as top American atomic equipment companies are partially owned by Japanese companies.