• Japan and India have maintained ties since 1952, with trade volume climbing to $21 billion
• Indian economy grows by 7.8% between April and June, with farm sector improving, government data shows

ANKARA

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday urged Japanese business and tech leaders to invest in India, especially in light of the challenging US tariffs on Indian exports.

Speaking at the India-Japan Economic Forum in Tokyo, Modi invited Japanese companies to expand their presence in India, emphasizing that the country’s economic growth offered “exciting opportunities.”

Modi is in Tokyo for the 15th India-Japan annual summit and his first meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.

“Deepening economic partnership between trusted friends is particularly relevant in the context of the present turbulent global economic scenario,” Modi said after arriving in Tokyo for his two-day visit, which concludes on Saturday.

Japan is also mulling a 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) private investment target in India over the next decade.

The meeting between Ishiba and Modi comes at a time when the US has imposed 50% tariffs on Indian imports, while Japan faces 15% levies.

The Trump administration has penalized India for its purchase of Russian oil amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Modi last visited Japan in May 2023. The two countries have maintained diplomatic ties since 1952, with their bilateral trade volume reaching $21 billion last year.

In 2014, India and Japan elevated their relationship to a special strategic and global partnership, and both are also members of the Quad, a US-led security coalition.

So far, Japanese companies have invested more than $40 billion in the South Asian nation.

Separately, the latest data shared by the Indian government on Friday showed the country’s economy grew by 7.8% between April and June, which is the highest rise seen in five quarters and came before the 50% tariffs were imposed by the US.

The data points to the farm sector as being the main contributor of growth in the first quarter of the ongoing fiscal year, which begins April 1st.