India and Japan discuss deepening collaboration in shipyards, port digitisation & green port initiatives
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Mr Sarbananda Sonowal, held a bilateral meeting with Mr Terada Yoshimichi, Japan’s Vice Minister for International Affairs, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism (MLITT) in Oslo this week, where the two countries, with the goal to deepen maritime relations, conferred on multiple areas including investment by Japanese shipyards, collaboration in port digitisation and green port initiatives, increase in R&D cooperation, upskilling human resources, employment of Indian seafarers in Japan among others.
The ministers also discussed using sustainable technologies, disaster-resilient infrastructure, and enhanced connectivity to enable Andaman & Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands to be converted into Smart Islands.
The meeting dwelt on increasing the partnership between Indian and Japanese shipyards, including greenfield investment such as Imabari Shipbuilding in Andhra Pradesh and others. Opportunities for co-development of ports and maritime industrial clusters as clean energy hubs were also gauged for mutual cooperation. Mr Sonowal expressed India’s interest in Japanese shipbuilding majors such as Imabari Shipbuilding, JMUC, Kanagawa Dockyard and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries exploring joint ventures and collaborative arrangements with Indian yards.
“Japan’s expertise in shipbuilding and ship repair is well recognised, and I see great scope for collaboration in this area. We also invite Japan’s Big Three maritime companies—NYK Line, MOL and K Line—to explore joint ventures and investment opportunities in India’s growing maritime sector.
With our strong bilateral relationship, India’s growing maritime industry present a unique opportunity for Japanese shipyards to invest in India in shipbuilding. Collaboration in port digitisation and green port initiatives will further strengthen the resilience and sustainability of our maritime logistics network,” said Mr Sonowal.
Mr Yoshimichi pointed out that Japan has been engaged in railway infrastructure development in India, and is now “very interested in the maritime sector”. Prospects of mutual collaboration in shipbuilding and training of seafarers were discussed and considered positively. He expressed satisfaction over the outcome of the meeting.
Emphasising the need to deepen bilateral ties in maritime training and development, as well as cooperation in research and development, both sides agreed to further strengthen collaboration in the maritime sector, especially in sustainable maritime technologies and next-generation ship design. Mr Sonowal evinced India’s interest in a MoU for a framework to avail promising avenues for collaboration with Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), Indian universities and public agencies, informed a communique.
Source: Exim News Service: Oslo, June 3