Asserting firm commitment of the Punjab government in facilitating investments from Japan through “Invest Punjab”, Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday highlighted his vision of having a “Little Japan” in Punjab that builds upon the current thriving presence of more than 100 Japanese business establishments in the state.

In his virtual address to the ‘Indo-Japan Investment Symposium: Investment Opportunities in the State of Punjab’ organised by the Japan Desk at Invest Punjab in coordination with Embassy of India, Tokyo, the CM said Punjab is the “safest place” to do business having witnessed no lockouts and strikes in last 30 years.

“Invest Punjab has been rated as the ‘top performing’ state and a dedicated Japan Desk has been formed at Invest Punjab for facilitating Japanese investors willing to invest in the state and would be the ‘match making’ platform for Japanese and Punjab based companies”, said Capt Amarinder.

Inviting the Japanese enterprises to Punjab, the CM highlighted the opportunities for investment or collaboration with Punjabbased companies in multiple sectors such as agri and food processing, technical textiles, engineering, pharma and medical devices, and skill development.

He also iterated the availability of 1000 acres of land near Rajpura for the development of a dedicated “Japanese Industrial Township” in Punjab.

In his opening remarks, the Indian Ambassador to Japan, Sanjay Verma, welcomed Japanese companies to explore complementarities in India and especially in Punjab, introducing Punjab as one of the most prosperous states in India that is also a preferred investment destination for international companies.

Highlighting the “proindustry atmosphere” in Punjab, state chief secretary Vini Mahajan said that Punjab was well on its way to becoming a “lighthouse state in ease of doing business”. The investor-friendly ecosystem has allowed the Punjab gover nment to receive Rs 80,000 crore of investments that are under various stages of implementation.

The state government has aggregated land over 1000 acres at three locations that can be explored by Japanese industries, the chief secretary added.