Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Government of Japan, Hiroshi Kajiyama met in new Delhi today prior to the meeting between Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe in Guwahati on December 16, 2019.

Bilateral issues between India and Japan were discussed in the hour long meeting and Commerce and Industry Minister raised the issue of trade deficit between India and Japan and the review of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries.

Commerce and Industry Minister informed the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan that balancing trade is a high priority for India with all partners. Similarly, market access for India’s goods and services with partner countries is very important but despite commitments in CEPA from Japan, market access for India’s goods and services remains elusive.

Both Ministers tasked officials of both countries to prepare a time bound action plan to address all these issues to strengthen Indo-Japan trade relations.

Senior officers of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and External Affairs were part of the Indian delegation. The Japanese side comprised of officials of the Japanese Trade Policy Bureau, METI and the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi.

CEPA review to address trade imbalance and secure market access through a time bound bilateral action plan. Discussion focused on CEPA, bilateral trade imbalance, and market access for Indian goods and services; ministers directed officials to prepare a time-bound action plan to operationalise commitments, improve market access, and strengthen bilateral trade relations, with senior commerce and foreign affairs officials and Japanese trade policy bodies engaged in follow-up and implementation.