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With RECP in focus, Japanese trade minister to meet Piyush Goyal on Tuesday 

WION
New Delhi, India Updated: Dec 09, 2019, 06:07 PM IST
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File photo: Piyush Goyal. Photograph:(Zee News Network)

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Japan wants India to join the RCEP from which New Delhi had withdrawn in November during the East Asia Summit. 

Japanese trade minister Hiroshi Kajiyama will be meeting his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal on Tuesday in New Delhi. Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will be the top focus during the meeting tomorrow.

Japan is keen that India joins the RCEP from which New Delhi had withdrawn in November during the East Asia Summit. India said that the outcome of the pact is not a balanced one and does not provide adequate protection against import surge among other things.

Earlier this month, the Japanese foreign minister said that, "Japan is making diplomatic efforts to realize the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) with the participation of all 16 countries, including India".

Explaining his government's position Kajiyama said, "what is driving our efforts is Japan’s firm conviction that the framework of the RCEP can truly boost the region’s economic potential only with the participation of India" which is the "world’s most populous democratic country and a major strategic player connecting the Asia-Pacific and the Indian Ocean."

RCEP deal is expected to go ahead with 15 countries. The negotiation for the deal started in 2012 in Cambodia and will be one of the biggest free trade agreement in the world.