India and Japan hope to conclude a free trade agreement by the end of this year, officials said Wednesday, as the Japanese prime minister began talks with Indian leaders to strengthen ties between the two Asian powers. The proposed deal is seen as crucial to boosting trade and investment between the two countries, which have yet to forge close economic ties, the Associated Press reported. Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said he expects the agreement, which would make 90 percent of trade between the two countries duty free, to be concluded by the end of this year. Japan's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Masaharu Kohno said his government will work to conclude the deal as soon as possible, but gave no time frame. Nath also said the Indian government will work to attract at least US$5 billion (¤3.7 billion) in investment from Japan over the next five years _ an ambitious target compared to the US$2.6 billion (¤1.92 billion) the Japanese have invested in India over the past 15 years. «We have had strong cultural ties and bonds of heritage, but the economic component of our relations has been weak,» Nath told a meeting of nearly 200 Japanese business executives traveling with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Abe has often pushed Japanese businesses to look beyond China and build stronger ties with India. Abe's talks with Singh would mostly focus on a review of the progress they have made since signing a strategic partnership agreement last year, Nath said. Under that agreement, Japan pledged to participate in a US$90-billion (¤66.63-billion) project to build a chain of industrial clusters between New Delhi and Mumbai.
