Japan woos Indian firms to mend strained ties

Japan woos Indian firms to mend strained ties

BANGALORE, India (Reuters): Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro
Mori called on Tuesday for greater cooperation between Japanese
and Indian technology firms to bolster a relationship soured by
New Delhi's nuclear tests.

The first Japanese premier to visit the world's second-most
populous country since 1990, Mori wasted no time in calling for
nuclear-capable rivals India and Pakistan to sign the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

"It is extremely important that both India and Pakistan sign
the CTBT towards preventing nuclear proliferation," he told The
Times of India before embarking on his three-day tour of India.
"I hope to see progress during my visit."

Japan, the only country to have suffered a nuclear attack when
the United States dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
in 1945, was among the most critical of the tit-for-tat nuclear
tests conducted by India and Pakistan in 1998.

Japan cut development aid to both countries in response.

But putting aside controversy to court India's emerging
prowess in the software industry, Mori began his visit in the
country's hi-tech capital, Bangalore.

Mori said he would propose the establishment of a "Japan-India
IT Promotion and Cooperation Initiative" when he meets Indian
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in New Delhi, where he was
scheduled to arrive on Tuesday evening.

But, still finding a link back to the nuclear issue, he said
increased science and technology cooperation between Japan and
India would lead to peace and prosperity.

"Science and technology have created weapons of mass
destruction capable of killing thousands of people," he said. "We
appeal we should never allow people to use these weapons."

Mori began with visits to two of India's most celebrated
software firms, Infosys Technologies Ltd and Wipro Ltd.

Japan faces a shortage of 200,000 IT professionals, and
Japanese officials hope to overcome this shortage by recruiting
Indian engineers and increasing Indian software exports to Japan.

Indian software industry officials say that India's software
exports to Japan are likely to increase to $300 million in fiscal
2000/01 (April-March) from $160 million in the previous year.

Under the proposed IT initiative, Japan will expand its
training programs for Indian engineers on Japanese business
practices and the Japanese language, and plans to train 1,000
workers over the next three years.

Mori said Japan will soon permit multiple-entry business visas
for short-stay visits from India.

Indian software industry officials had listed difficult
Japanese visa policies as one of the main irritants preventing
them from expanding business with Japan.