Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) will set up a desk to facilitate small businesses of Japan set up operations in Gujarat. It will also provide office space to Japanese companies on makeshift basis. The move, GCCI feels will accelerate Japanese investments in Gujarat, joint ventures (JV) and Transfer of Technology (ToT) between companies of both the countries.

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"The desk will be ready in a month. It will be an interface between the Japanese companies and Gujarat government," said Jaimin Vasa, senior vice president of GCCI. The decision is an outcome of a recent visit of a 17-member delegation of GCCI to Japan. "Japanese have technology and funds. However, they have strong demographic disadvantage and by 2025, their average age will be 65 years. On the other hand India will have the highest working age population in the world," said Vasa.

Industry sources say that Japanese companies also want to de-risk their investments in China and are looking at conducive destinations. With recent investments by Japanese companies into India, particularly Gujarat, there is a growing confidence regarding Gujarat and India among Japanese companies. The proposed desk will further strengthen the sentiment.

The desk will coordinate with Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) as well as organizations like Ahmedabad Management Association (AMA) in facilitating bilateral trade and investment by augmenting classes for Japanese language and propagating Japanese management techniques like Kaizen.

According to businessmen who were a part of the delegation to Japan, sectors like pharmaceuticals, automobiles, engineering, renewable energy and textiles have huge potential for bilateral trade and investment between Japan and Gujarat.