Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will embark on a 10-day visit to Japan starting December 1, leading a delegation comprising Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora, Chief Secretary KAP Sinha, and other officials to invite Japanese industry leaders to invest in India.
Sources said that Mann will be in Tokyo and Sapporo to hold meetings with captains of industry there. The visit will be part of the state government’s international outreach in the run-up to the 6th Progressive Punjab Investors’ Summit scheduled from March 13-15 next year.
Sources said that political clearance from the Centre had been received and preparations were being made for the trip. Mann was reportedly wrapping up all his meetings as he would be away from the state for 10 days.
“The Zila Parishad and Block Samiti elections have also been announced for December 14. Model Code of Conduct is in place in rural areas. Hence, CM’s absence would not matter much. The elections have been timed in such a way that there is code during most of his visit abroad,” an official said.
“The CM’s schedule is packed. There are back-to-back meetings during all 10 days. He will be meeting representatives of 25 leading Japanese companies like Yamaha, Panasonic, Sumitomo, Nippon, NEC, Toyota and others. We will be doing our bit. We will showcase to Japan that Punjab is industry-ready. Let us see how successful the visit would be,” the official added.
On November 26, Mann, accompanied by Arora, held a detailed virtual deliberation with a high-level delegation from Japan comprising representatives of the Embassy of Japan, Japan External Trade Organisation, Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry in India, and leading Japanese companies.
The CM batted for a strategic tie-up with Japan in key sectors of advanced manufacturing, mobility, electronics, food processing, renewable energy, and global services.
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The interaction took place at the Indian School of Business in Mohali, where the CM extended an invitation to Japanese companies to be part of Punjab’s next phase of industrial transformation.
Meanwhile, a video of Mann meeting passengers waiting for buses amid a strike call given by the Punjab Roadways and PRTC contractual employees at Kurali at 4 am on Saturday surfaced. He is likely to visit Jalandhar to meet the family of the Jalandhar rape victim.
AloJapan.com