Indian-origin adviser of Japan's Hiroshima Prefecture keen to enhance business ties with India

Recently appointed Foreign Business Adviser for Japan's Hiroshima Prefecture, Neerendra Upadhyaya, has said he would be keen on promoting business to business (B2B) contacts between India and Hiroshima.

Upadhyaya has highlighted three main areas that would create the much needed impetus to enhance business ties between India and Hiroshima.

"First is business in-bound and out-bound. I am not just targeting Hiroshima companies coming to India and doing business, it should be the other way also," Upadhyaya said. "So, Indian IT companies should plan to go to Hiroshima to set up their offices there. Even Hiroshima companies, especially their small scale companies, should come to India. They have excellent technologies but not explored yet in India at all," he added.

Upadhyaya said that being an investment banker in Japan, he would work towards enhancing associations between Indian and Hiroshima companies. "I will try to take the government's help for Hiroshima, and being an investment banker in Japan, I am supporting them financially also to set up their business in India, and have collaborations with more Indian companies," he said.

He added that there is a need to focus on training, education, and tourism between the two sides.

"Second area would be training and education. There should be skill development on both sides," he said. "Third area would be tourism and culture. Hiroshima is very popular in tourism, and across the world people are going. But unfortunately, Indians are less in number. If people go there, they will understand more about Hiroshima. Also promoting Indian culture in Hiroshima and vice versa maybe through Indian movies or any possible expression from both cultures."

On the India-Hiroshima tie up in the automobile sector, Upadhyaya said his target is to make this collaboration global. "Hiroshima is a hub for the automobile sector. In fact it has one of the biggest car companies -- Mazda Motors. There are number of auto part makers. But this is still not explored in India. There are very few tie ups in India," he said. "It is just not about Indian companies working with them, but how they can go with the Hiroshima companies to the rest of the world. That is also one of the areas I think needs to be worked on."

Describing his new assignment as a big responsibility, Upadhyaya said he wanted to focus more on India, and added that nothing much has been done on the business side. "This is a big responsibility being the first person appointed by the Governor of Hiroshima as a Foreign Business Adviser for their policies. And, I want to focus more on India. Till now, nothing much has been done on the business side. I think I have to take a lot of responsibility between the Hiroshima Prefecture and India," he said.

The Governor of Hiroshima, Hidehiko Yuzaki, appointed Upadhyaya to the high-profile post, hoping that he would assist them in promoting the prefecture's foreign business initiatives and policies.

A Japan-based Indian business executive, Upadhyaya is the first foreign lawyer from India awarded by Ministry of Justice, Japan. He is a leading investment adviser to important firms in Japan for business between the two countries. He has played a key role as merger and acquisition adviser to major Japanese banks and financial institutions like Sumitomo Trust, SMBC NIKKO Securities. He has also been a member of high profile business delegations from Japan to other Asian countries.