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Japan “has very positively received” a suggestion that the Indian Rare Earths Ltd. (IREL) be removed from the “list of entities with which Japanese technical collaboration is restricted,” Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said on Friday.
Mr. Sharma told The Hindu from Malaysia that he raised the issue at a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara in Tokyo on Wednesday. The subject was discussed in the context of Japan's initiative for a joint venture between Toyota Toshu and the IREL.
IREL, which comes under the Department of Atomic Energy, has come into focus following the October 2010 agreement between the Prime Ministers of Japan and India to explore the possibilities of collaboration in rare earth minerals.
Speaking after signing the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in Putrajaya, Mr. Sharma said he was now “reasonably optimistic that the obstacle… of the restrictive list … will be removed very soon” in respect of the IREL.
Shortly after Mr. Sharma's talks with the Japanese Minister on Wednesday, Japanese officials told The Hindu that Tokyo “would like to make progress” towards “joint exploration with India for the development of rare earth minerals.”
On the current state of play in the Japan-India civil nuclear talks, Mr. Sharma said he briefed the Japanese Minister on India's quest for energy security.
“In principle, there is an understanding between India and Japan to explore the possibilities of cooperation in the civil nuclear domain. How to move forward is left to the agencies concerned,” he added.
Mr. Sharma told The Hindu from Malaysia that he raised the issue at a meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara in Tokyo on Wednesday. The subject was discussed in the context of Japan's initiative for a joint venture between Toyota Toshu and the IREL.
IREL, which comes under the Department of Atomic Energy, has come into focus following the October 2010 agreement between the Prime Ministers of Japan and India to explore the possibilities of collaboration in rare earth minerals.
Speaking after signing the India-Malaysia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement in Putrajaya, Mr. Sharma said he was now “reasonably optimistic that the obstacle… of the restrictive list … will be removed very soon” in respect of the IREL.
Shortly after Mr. Sharma's talks with the Japanese Minister on Wednesday, Japanese officials told The Hindu that Tokyo “would like to make progress” towards “joint exploration with India for the development of rare earth minerals.”
On the current state of play in the Japan-India civil nuclear talks, Mr. Sharma said he briefed the Japanese Minister on India's quest for energy security.
“In principle, there is an understanding between India and Japan to explore the possibilities of cooperation in the civil nuclear domain. How to move forward is left to the agencies concerned,” he added.