(LiveMint)
India asked Japan on Tuesday to take steps to reduce the Japanese trade surplus and sought more market access for Indian goods and services, a government statement said, before Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit next week.Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abe plan to hold a summit in Guwahati on Dec. 15-16. During Modi’s visit to Tokyo last year, they agreed to seek closer economic and military ties as both countries are wary of China.
Bilateral trade between the two countries rose to $17.63 billion in 2018/19 from $10.9 billion in 2008/09. The trade balance widened to $7.9 billion in favour of Japan. Despite India’s decision to walk out of an ASEAN-led 15- nation regional free-trade pact, Japan is still hopeful that Modi will reconsider his decision, officials said.
