New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s top priority during his Japan visit will be to woo their investment into India’s $85 billion energy market.
India has been pushing for an agreement with Japan on the lines of a 2008 deal with the US under which India was allowed to import US nuclear fuel and technology without giving up its military nuclear programme.
The trouble comes with Japan’s insistence that India guarantees to stop all nuclear tests and allow more intrusive inspections of its nuclear facilities to ensure fuel is not diverted to make bombs.
India, which sees its weapons as a deterrent against nuclear-armed neighbours China and Pakistan, has sought to meet Japan’s concerns and over the past month the two sides have speeded up negotiations ahead of the Prime Minister’s visit.
“Serious efforts are being made to resolve any special concerns that Japan has. Whether it will be fully resolved and ready for signing before the end of the PM’s trip is unclear,” said a former member of the country’s top atomic energy commission who has been consulted in the drafting of the energy pact.
Modi leaves for Japan on Saturday for a five-day visit, his first major bilateral trip since taking over in May. The visit is being billed as an attempt by the two democracies to balance the rising weight of China across Asia.
Modi and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are also expected to boost defence ties, infrastructure, with the Indian leader seeking Japanese backing for the high-speed ‘bullet’ trains he promised to voters in his election campaign.
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