Japanese business panel to visit Uttar Pradesh in November

Lucknow:  A delegation of Japanese business and industrial representatives have sought time from the Yogi Adityanath government to visit Uttar Pradesh in November this year to assess the possibility of starting projects here.

The letter written to MSME Minister Siddhartha Nath Singh, is a major boost to the government's initiative to bring foreign investment to the state.

The MSME minister said that the letter written by the Organisation for Spiritual, Industrial and Culture Advancement (OSICA) International, has said that its members in Japan, who have "interest in a wide range of industries and services, have now requested to coordinate a business delegation to India this year".

The delegation would comprise 20-25 members and would like to visit Lucknow and Delhi, where they will make presentations on their proposals, according to Tadashi Watanabe, vice-president for international relations for OSICA International.

The minister, who had met OSICA International secretary general Fumio Kitsuki in December 2019 and Japanese ambassador to India, Satoshi Suzuki, on May 7 this year, said that the development was a positive sign for the state.

"Uttar Pradesh is clearly being recognised as a state with immense possibilities for investment. OSICA has asked to be shown at least two sites, one in west UP and another in east UP during their visit. It has also indicated, so far, that the delegation is interested in setting up electronics park, warehousing and logistics and food processing units. We have sought more details so that we can prepare a detailed itinerary for the visiting delegates," he said.

State Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has already asked officials to tap foreign companies that plan to move out of China in the wake of the pandemic.

A committee consisting of Siddhartha Nath Singh and Industries Minister Satish Mahana, has been set up to specifically focus on bringing foreign investment into the state that has already been reworking several policies for making the state investment-friendly.

The Japanese government has created a US $ 2.2 billion fund to help companies migrate from China, creating a huge potential for Uttar Pradesh. The state government has set up a help desk for three countries from where it is anticipating investments, including Japan, South Korea and the US.