Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann will visit Japan and South Korea as part of an investor outreach mission to strengthen economic partnerships, interact with global companies, and extend personal invitations for the upcoming 6th Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit scheduled from March 13–15, 2026.Mann will lead a high-level delegation, including state industries minister Sanjeev Arora, to visit Tokyo on December 2–3, Osaka on December 4–5, and Seoul on December 8–9.The CM said the idea was to showcase Punjab as a preferred destination for global industry by offering stability in policy, speed in decision making, and a governance system that respected time and trust of investors. He stated that Punjab’s approach was based on partnership and working closely with industry by understanding their needs and ensuring that the govt became an enabler of growth.These visits, meetings, and roadshow programmes are being organised in close coordination with the Indian Embassy in Japan, the Indian Embassy in South Korea, the Union ministry of external affairs, department for promotion of industry and internal trade’s (DPIIT) Invest India, and with the support and facilitation of the embassies of Japan and South Korea in New Delhi, said an official spokesperson.During the visits, the state will showcase Punjab’s position as North India’s preferred investment destination, highlighting its strategic location, seamless connectivity to NCR and major ports, strong industrial clusters, uninterrupted quality power supply, skilled workforce, and progressive policy ecosystem. The delegation will also present the state’s governance and regulatory reforms, including the FastTrack Punjab single-window system offering 173+ G2B services, auto-deemed approvals, PAN-based business identifiers, and amendments to the Punjab Right to Business Act enabling time-bound in-principle approvals.The outreach will further highlight Punjab’s industrial infrastructure, including plug-and-play parks and the upcoming integrated manufacturing cluster (IMC) Rajpura, while underlining that over Rs 1.4 lakh crore of on-ground investments have already been facilitated through Invest Punjab. Mann said partnership between the govt and the industry was key to success and the state firmly believed that industrial growth could only be achieved when we work as equal partners. Through a series of roadshows, one-to-one business meetings, and interactions with major global corporations and institutions, the delegation aims to position Punjab as an attractive destination for Japanese and South Korean companies across mobility, electronics, ESDM, auto components, food processing, chemicals, green energy, IT, semiconductors, textiles, and advanced manufacturing. These engagements, curated with the support of both Indian missions and partner institutions in Japan and South Korea, will enable deeper economic ties, joint ventures, technology exchanges, and supply-chain integration. The delegation will also hold diaspora interactions in Tokyo, Osaka, and Seoul to strengthen cultural and community linkages with the Indian-origin population.As part of its national and international pre-summit outreach, the government of Punjab has already organised key engagements, including the Japan–Punjab Investment Roundtable, GCC Roundtable, and CIS Roundtable in New Delhi, generating strong interest from global industry and diplomats. In addition, Punjab has conducted domestic roadshows in major Indian cities such as Gurugram, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai, engaging with large corporates, MSMEs, and sectoral bodies to share the state’s vision, investment-ready opportunities, and value proposition for the 2026 summit.BOX: CM’s 2022 Germany VisitMann visited Germany in September 2022, following which the Punjab govt announced that BMW agreed to set up an auto component unit in the state. However, BMW Group India quickly released a statement denying any plans for setting up additional manufacturing operations in Punjab. During the same trip, CM Mann engaged with leading German companies, seeking support from the agricultural firm BayWa to address critical issues in the agriculture sector, such as climate change, irrigation, and digitisation.
AloJapan.com