India, Japan make 'progress' in CEPA negotiations: Krishna

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Tokyo: India and Japan have made "progress" in talks to conclude "a high quality and mutually beneficial" Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to cement their strategic partnership, mainly in the field of trade, External Affairs Minister S M Krishna said in Tokyo on Friday.

Krishna, who is on a four-day visit to Japan, held wide-ranging discussions on the entire gamut of bilateral relations during the third strategic dialogue he co-chaired with his Japanese counterpart Hirofumi Nakasone.

"We are making progress in our negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. Foreign Minister Nakasone and I agreed on the necessity of concluding a high quality and mutually beneficial agreement," he told reporters after the delegation level talks.

The two countries will hold further talks in Tokyo later this month on the matter. Krishna and his Japanese counterpart also agreed to expedite the work on the Dedicated Freight Corridor and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor projects.

"I am confident that these will become important symbols of our partnership," the External Affairs Minister said. He voiced appreciation for the Official Development Assistance given by Japan, which has contributed to economic development in India in a big way.

The two sides deliberated on steps to enhance trade relations and achieve the 20-billion-dollar trade target set for 2010. In 2008-09, bilateral trade between India and Japan was USD 13 billion.

An official said that despite the economic slowdown, India and Japan were "well on the way" to achieve the USD 20- billion trade target by 2010.

The External Affairs Minister's visit to Japan for the annual strategic dialogue at a time when Parliament is in session in New Delhi underlines the importance India attaches to its relations with Tokyo, an Indian official said.

Krishna and Nakasone also agreed that climate change was an important global challenge. They expressed the hope that all countries will participate constructively under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the Kyoto Protocol to have an "ambitious" and at the same time "equitable and fair" outcome at the Copenhagen talks later this year.

They hoped that the outcome of the Copenhagen talks on climate change will ensure that developing countries are able to continue their economic growth at an accelerated pace.

The two leaders also discussed regional and multilateral issues, including the UN reform and economic arrangements in Asia.