Modi says India, Japan to ‘shape the Asian century’
India and Japan will “shape the Asian Century”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday, on a visit expected to secure billions of dollars in Japanese investment and an upgrade to security ties.”India and Japan’s partnership is strategic and smart. Powered by economic logic, we have turned shared interests into shared prosperity,” Modi told a business forum in Tokyo.”India is the springboard for Japanese businesses to the Global South. We will shape the Asian Century for stability, growth, and prosperity,” Modi said.Modi’s two-day visit — a stopover before going to China — will see Japan unveil 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) in investments over the next 10 years, according to media reports.Bilateral trade is currently worth over $20 billion annually, heavily weighted in Japan’s favour.”Japan and India are strategic partners who share common values such as freedom, democracy, rule of law, having cherished friendship and trust over many years,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Isbiba said.”Our economic relationship is expanding rapidly as Japan’s technology and India’s talented human resources and its huge market are complementing each other,” Ishiba told the forum.Both countries have been hit by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, with levies of 50 percent on many Indian imports into the United States taking effect this week.Japan’s vital auto sector still faces 25 percent tariffs as a July trade deal cutting them — as well as additional “reciprocal” levies — is yet to come into force. Modi and Ishiba were expected to announce that the number of Indians with specialised skills working or studying in Japan — which is beset by labour shortages — will double to 50,000 over the next five years, reports said.The investments will target fields including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and securing access to critical minerals, with Modi and Ishiba set to tour a chip facility on Saturday.They will also visit a factory making “shinkansen” bullet trains with a view to Japan assisting in a planned 7,000-kilometre (4,350-mile) high-speed rail network by the centenary of Indian independence in 2047.A joint project aimed at building a first high-speed link between the western Indian cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad has been plagued for years with delays and cost overruns.India and Japan, members of the Quad alliance with the United States and Australia seen as a bulwark against China, were also expected to upgrade their 2008 declaration on security cooperation.After Japan, Modi was due at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China on Sunday and Monday hosted by President Xi Jinping and also attended by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.Modi’s visit is his first to China since 2018.The two most populous nations are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia and fought a deadly border clash in 2020.A thaw began last October when Modi met with Xi for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia.
Modi says India, Japan to ‘shape the Asian century’
India and Japan will “shape the Asian Century”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Friday, on a visit expected to secure billions of dollars in Japanese investment and an upgrade to security ties.”India and Japan’s partnership is strategic and smart. Powered by economic logic, we have turned shared interests into shared prosperity,” Modi told a business forum in Tokyo.”India is the springboard for Japanese businesses to the Global South. We will shape the Asian Century for stability, growth, and prosperity,” Modi said.Modi’s two-day visit — a stopover before going to China — will see Japan unveil 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) in investments over the next 10 years, according to media reports.Bilateral trade is currently worth over $20 billion annually, heavily weighted in Japan’s favour.”Japan and India are strategic partners who share common values such as freedom, democracy, rule of law, having cherished friendship and trust over many years,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Isbiba said.”Our economic relationship is expanding rapidly as Japan’s technology and India’s talented human resources and its huge market are complementing each other,” Ishiba told the forum.Both countries have been hit by tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, with levies of 50 percent on many Indian imports into the United States taking effect this week.Japan’s vital auto sector still faces 25 percent tariffs as a July trade deal cutting them — as well as additional “reciprocal” levies — is yet to come into force. Modi and Ishiba were expected to announce that the number of Indians with specialised skills working or studying in Japan — which is beset by labour shortages — will double to 50,000 over the next five years, reports said.The investments will target fields including artificial intelligence, semiconductors and securing access to critical minerals, with Modi and Ishiba set to tour a chip facility on Saturday.They will also visit a factory making “shinkansen” bullet trains with a view to Japan assisting in a planned 7,000-kilometre (4,350-mile) high-speed rail network by the centenary of Indian independence in 2047.A joint project aimed at building a first high-speed link between the western Indian cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad has been plagued for years with delays and cost overruns.India and Japan, members of the Quad alliance with the United States and Australia seen as a bulwark against China, were also expected to upgrade their 2008 declaration on security cooperation.After Japan, Modi was due at a Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit in China on Sunday and Monday hosted by President Xi Jinping and also attended by Russian leader Vladimir Putin.Modi’s visit is his first to China since 2018.The two most populous nations are intense rivals competing for influence across South Asia and fought a deadly border clash in 2020.A thaw began last October when Modi met with Xi for the first time in five years at a summit in Russia.
Pour le patron du Medef, Attal, Retailleau et Bardella sont plus “conscients des périls” économiques
Le patron du Medef Patrick Martin a estimé vendredi que parmi les chefs de partis qui s’étaient rendus à l’université d’été de l’organisation patronale, Gabriel Attal, Bruno Retailleau et “dans une certaine mesure” Jordan Bardella se sont montrés “plus conscients des périls” économiques.”Certains” des responsables politiques conviés à l’université d’été du Medef jeudi “n’ont absolument pas fait référence aux Etats-Unis, au prix de l’énergie, au durcissement de la concurrence incroyable” ou encore “à une Europe qui n’a pas été à la hauteur de la situation dans les négociations avec les Etats-Unis”, a affirmé Patrick Martin sur Radio Classique.”D’autres, manifestement, sont plus conscients” des “périls économiques”, a-t-il estimé. “Ce n’est pas un parti pris de ma part, mais c’est plutôt Gabriel Attal (Renaissance, NDLR), Bruno Retailleau (LR), dans une certaine mesure Jordan Bardella (Rassemblement national)”.Parmi les autres chefs de parti et responsables politiques invités à l’université du Medef – la REF – figuraient Manuel Bompard (LFI), Marine Tondelier (Les Ecologistes) et Fabien Roussel (PCF).D’autres étaient absents pour des raisons d’agenda, comme Olivier Faure (PS) et Edouard Philippe (Horizons).Le président de la première organisation patronale de France a toutefois avancé qu’il n’entendait pas “distribuer les bons et les mauvais points, ce qui nous importait, c’était d’abord de passer nos messages.””On est assez inquiets, abasourdis de voir qu’il y a un débat politique qui est assez picrocholin”, a estimé Patrick Martin, dénonçant “un très court-termisme qui ne prend pas suffisamment en compte la réalité des choses”.Concernant le discours du Premier ministre François Bayrou jeudi à la REF, “il y a quand même un certain nombre de points positifs”, a ajouté Patrick Martin.”Le Premier ministre a dit que rien dans le prochain budget, pour autant que ce soit lui qui le porte, ne sera fait au détriment de la croissance et de la compétitivité des entreprises et c’est évidemment cela notre gros souci”, a-t-il relevé.
Pour le patron du Medef, Attal, Retailleau et Bardella sont plus “conscients des périls” économiques
Le patron du Medef Patrick Martin a estimé vendredi que parmi les chefs de partis qui s’étaient rendus à l’université d’été de l’organisation patronale, Gabriel Attal, Bruno Retailleau et “dans une certaine mesure” Jordan Bardella se sont montrés “plus conscients des périls” économiques.”Certains” des responsables politiques conviés à l’université d’été du Medef jeudi “n’ont absolument pas fait référence aux Etats-Unis, au prix de l’énergie, au durcissement de la concurrence incroyable” ou encore “à une Europe qui n’a pas été à la hauteur de la situation dans les négociations avec les Etats-Unis”, a affirmé Patrick Martin sur Radio Classique.”D’autres, manifestement, sont plus conscients” des “périls économiques”, a-t-il estimé. “Ce n’est pas un parti pris de ma part, mais c’est plutôt Gabriel Attal (Renaissance, NDLR), Bruno Retailleau (LR), dans une certaine mesure Jordan Bardella (Rassemblement national)”.Parmi les autres chefs de parti et responsables politiques invités à l’université du Medef – la REF – figuraient Manuel Bompard (LFI), Marine Tondelier (Les Ecologistes) et Fabien Roussel (PCF).D’autres étaient absents pour des raisons d’agenda, comme Olivier Faure (PS) et Edouard Philippe (Horizons).Le président de la première organisation patronale de France a toutefois avancé qu’il n’entendait pas “distribuer les bons et les mauvais points, ce qui nous importait, c’était d’abord de passer nos messages.””On est assez inquiets, abasourdis de voir qu’il y a un débat politique qui est assez picrocholin”, a estimé Patrick Martin, dénonçant “un très court-termisme qui ne prend pas suffisamment en compte la réalité des choses”.Concernant le discours du Premier ministre François Bayrou jeudi à la REF, “il y a quand même un certain nombre de points positifs”, a ajouté Patrick Martin.”Le Premier ministre a dit que rien dans le prochain budget, pour autant que ce soit lui qui le porte, ne sera fait au détriment de la croissance et de la compétitivité des entreprises et c’est évidemment cela notre gros souci”, a-t-il relevé.
Asia stocks mixed after Wall St hits new highs
Markets in Asia were mixed on Friday following recent strong gains and after the Dow and the S&P 500 hit new records, although European stocks retreated.Modest gains on Wall Street came after an upward revision to US GDP for the second quarter and bumper results from AI chip giant Nvidia.The upward GDP hike to 3.3 percent from 3.0 percent mainly reflected improvements in investment and consumer spending.”After the initial release, there were concerns that the domestic (US) economy was slowing quite sharply,” said Richard Flax at Moneyfarm. “But these latest data suggest that the economy is a bit stronger than initially feared.” Attention is now on Friday’s release of a key US inflation reading and the implications for the Federal Reserve’s interest rate outlook.The Paris stock market extended its recovery Thursday after tumbling early in the week on fears that France’s minority government could be toppled, as it struggles to find around $51 billion in savings.But London, Paris and Frankfurt retreated during early trading Friday.In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei and Seoul ended down while Shanghai advanced.Hong Kong crept higher ahead of results from tech titan Alibaba and electric car giant BYD. Oil prices dipped.Japanese industrial production fell by 1.6 percent month-on-month, while vehicle output plunged 6.7 percent.”That fall echoes the big drop in motor vehicle exports last month and suggests that US tariffs are starting to bite,” said Marcel Thieliant at Capital Economics.On Thursday, Japan’s tariff envoy, who was seeking to finalise a trade deal struck in July, abruptly cancelled a visit to Washington.- Key figures at around 0715 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 42,718.47 (close)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.8 percent at 25,189.34Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.4 percent at 3,857.93 (close)London – FTSE 100: DOWN 0.1 percent at 9,210.71 Euro/dollar: DOWN at 1.1664 from $1.1680 on ThursdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3485 at from $1.3508 Dollar/yen: UP at 147.13 yen from 146.97 yen Euro/pound: UP at 86.50 at from 86.46 pence West Texas Intermediate: DOWN 0.7 percent at $64.17 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: DOWN 0.7 percent at $68.17 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.16 percent at 45,636.90 points (close)New York – S&P 500: UP 0.32 percent at 6,501.86 (close)
Décès de l’ancien ministre Olivier Stirn
L’ancien ministre Olivier Stirn est décédé à l’âge de 89 ans, a annoncé sa famille dans un avis publié dans le Figaro vendredi.Entre 1973 et 1990, M. Stirn a été membre de plusieurs gouvernements de droite et de gauche, notamment comme secrétaire d’Etat aux Dom-Tom dans le gouvernement de Jacques Chirac, après avoir commencé sa carrière dans le parti gaulliste UDR. A l’été 1990, il avait dû présenter sa démission comme ministre délégué au Tourisme dans le gouvernement de Michel Rocard après avoir organisé un colloque en payant des figurants pour remplir la salle. Cette affaire avait mis un terme à sa carrière politique.Il avait été également maire de Vire (Calvados) de 1971 à 1989.