Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed Indian and Japanese business leaders in Tokyo on Monday – the second day of his two-day visit to the country for the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit.

The PM welcomed the deepening of dialogue on infrastructure, capacity building and communication between the two nations.

Acknowledging India and Japan’s co-existence on the foundation of faith and shared heritage, PM Modi said that his government has accorded top priority to Ease of Doing Business.

“In 2014, when I took over the reins of the government, India’s position in World’s Ease of Doing Business was 142nd. Now we are on the 100th rank and are still working on a very broad scale to improve the rankings.

He said that even the states in India are competing among themselves over Ease of Doing Business.

“India has started ranking its 36 states and Union Territories on the ease of doing business. This has resulted in a healthy competition among them for investment and led to better results,” the PM said.

“In my first visit to Japan as Prime Minister of India, I had talked about setting up an organisation called Japan Plus. Today, Japan plus works with our Invest India. The United Nations rewarded Invest India for its fine work,” the PM told the gathering.

Positioning India as a major investment destination, the PM said that one of the benefits of doing business in the country is low cost manufacturing.

“Behind that is a major force of competitive labour cost,” the PM said.

Modi, who is on his third visit to Japan, said that India’s strength of software and Japan’s pioneering hardware industry can do wonders if they come together.

India is progressing rapidly towards Industry 4.0 with new innovations and inventions such as AI, IoT, 3D Printing and Robotics.

“Electric Mobility is an area in which cooperation can prove to be beneficial for both India and Japan,” Modi said.

The PM also mentioned cooperation in Indo-Pacific region while drawing a parallel between the similarities in the two nations’ approach to developmental policies.

“Apart from infrastructure and capacity building, there is strong potential for cooperation between Japan and India in areas of health and agriculture in other countries,” the PM said.

“Therefore, be it Indo-Pacific or South Asia or Africa, India and Japan will strengthen our participation in the development of other countries on the basis of their priorities,” the PM added, underling how Japan’s entry in the International Solar Alliance has opened new doors of partnership in other nations.

Following up on his comments in a meeting with top industry leaders from India and Japan earlier today, PM Modi told the gathering of his stress on Strong India, Strong Japan.

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Thanking the industry captains for their special faith in India, the PM invited them to increase their speed of investment.

At the meeting with a special business delegation comprising industry leaders of the two nations, the PM spoke at length about India’s reform trajectory and urged the business leaders of Japan to explore various investment opportunities in India.

Modi, who arrived here on Saturday for his annual summit with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, said, “Some years ago, I spoke about making a mini Japan in India. It’s a matter of great happiness for me that today, you are working in an even larger number in India.”

Modi said the Japan-backed Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor project was on track because of Tokyo’s collaboration.