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Japan's support for developing tourism sought

          New Delhi: India has sought Japan's support for developing the country's tourism infrastructure to further boost people-to-people contact. "Every single state of India has influences of Buddhism. So, each state is looking forward to your help and your cooperation in developing places of Buddhist interest for people around the world. I can look forward to greater cooperation," Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika Soni said at the launch of the 'Japan-India Tourism Exchange Year 2007' here on Monday evening. Buddhist places of importance exist in Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The Japanese Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has already extended a credit line of 5.4 billion rupees for building basic facilities at Buddhist centres in Uttar Pradesh. India is also doing its best to increase tourist facilities in the country, Soni said. "We are paying a lot of emphasis on budget hotels, on facilitation of visa facility. For the first time, we have long term visas for multiple entries, and we are now insisting on visas on arrival. We have developed a partnership. In India, we are developing tourism through a partnership of the State Governments, the private players, the corporate world and the Government of India," she added.

         Japan's Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Tetsuzo Fuyushiba, appealed to India to relax visa norms for Japanese tourists. "There are many people who have been traveling between India and Japan. It has been increasing steadily. The total number at the moment is 6.1 lakh," Fuyushiba said. India is the largest recipient of Japanese development aid, but trade and investment between the two economies has been unspectacular. Japanese companies have tended to focus on markets in China, Thailand and Vietnam. Japan's trade with India in 2005 amounted to 740 billion Yen, less than four percent of its trade with China. Japan's foreign direct investment in India was just 11 billion Yen in the April- June quarter compared with 173 billion Yen for China.
-May 1,  2007