New Delhi (dpa) – India and Japan on Wednesday signed a series of deals designed to develop transport infrastructure in India and agreed to a 15-billion-dollar currency swap agreement to help shore the Indian rupee. The agreements were signed after talks between visiting Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh. The two leaders also asked their negotiators to step up efforts to conclude a civilian nuclear agreement initiated in 2010, according to a joint statement. The two countries launched a dialogue on a nuclear energy cooperation pact in June 2010, which, when inked, would enable Japan to export its cutting-edge technology for Indian atomic plants. Formal talks stalled after the March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which triggered the world's worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. Noda said Japan would share with India experiences and lessons drawn from the damage to the nuclear plant in the north-eastern prefecture of Fukushima during the tsunami to contribute to nuclear safety of latter's plants. The two sides also decided that their enterprises would jointly undertake industrial activities to produce and export rare earths. Noda announced public and private finance totaling 4.5 billion dollars over the next five years for a Delhi-Mumbai industrial corridor expressway project. The two leaders also agreed on a bilateral currency swap arrangement of 15 billion dollars that would help New Delhi stem the fall of the rupee. Noda and Singh discussed, among other issues, the situation in Afghanistan, United Nations reform and maritime security, the joint statement said. During their meeting Singh and Noda expressed the hope that a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that had come into force in August would boost trade and investment. Earlier Wednesday, at a meeting with business leaders Noda said he was determined to step up economic cooperation with India. Trade between India and Japan stood at 13.2 billion dollars from January to September, up 24 percent from the same period in 2010, and both governments said it has potential for further growth. “I believe we can achieve greater trade volumes,” Noda said. Indian Trade Minister Anand Sharma said India and Japan were on course to reach a trade target of 25 billion dollars by 2014. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/PT39v Tags: Currency, India, Japan Section: Business, East Asia, South Asia
