Ways to Grow Together: Indian Ambassador to Japan Sibi George on Bilateral Ties Today

Thriving Together with India

INTERVIEWER  Thank you very much for making time for us today. India’s economy has been growing very fast, and is expected to surpass Japan this year to become the fourth largest economy in the world. What are the secrets to this rapid growth over recent decades?

SIBI GEORGE  I’d like to put it differently. India is the fastest-growing large economy in the world today, thanks to the economic reform program we started some thirty years back. This program continues to this day, whether we’re dealing with COVID-19 or not, whether economic times are tough or not, and it has been contributing to our growth rate—about 7 percent a year over those thirty years, a rate we expect to see continue over the next twenty or more years. That’s the target for India, as set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—to make India a developed country by 2047, the hundredth anniversary of our independence.

This is what we call Amrit Kaal—Prime Minister Modi’s vision 2047 for a “New India”—introduced in 2021, on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of Indian independence.

The Indian economy is growing fast, but we have a long way to go if you look at it in per capita terms. We need to focus on this, and Prime Minister Modi has declared bringing “everyone together on an inclusive growth path” as one of the main goals of our nation. And we would like to grow with Japan.

INTERVIEWER  Well of course Japan would like to grow, but we certainly haven’t been growing as fast as you!

GEORGE  Every Japanese company in India is growing. There are 1,500 Japanese firms in India now, and all of them are thriving. The best example, of course, is Suzuki. It came to India as a small company, and today Suzuki in India is larger than the home company in Japan. It’s a great success story, occupying more than 40 percent of the automotive sector in India. I pay homage to Suzuki Osamu, who passed away recently—a great friend to India who showed what a Japanese company can do there.

But imagine 1,500 companies like that. Or make it 15,000 companies! Be a part of India’s growth story and benefit both of our countries.

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INTERVIEWER  Turning to diplomacy, India has clearly been leading the global South in recent years. What do you think India can achieve in this position in its relations with other countries?

GEORGE  Again, I’d like to put it in perspective. How do we define this grouping? The global South are countries facing considerable difficulties in the current setup, but that have huge aspirations. In this sense, India is very much a member of the global South, having faced many challenges on the way to growth.

As president of the Group of Twenty in 2022–23, one of the first things India did was to call a summit of global South countries. In all, 125 countries participated in a meeting aimed at understanding the challenges that they face, and we brought this to the G20 table, making it part of the agenda there. In that year we held more than 200 meetings in India, discussing issues pertaining to the global South; despite this being a divided world, when we brought forth a resolution reflecting these countries’ hopes, it was adopted unanimously as a declaration of hope.

INTERVIEWER  India is also a member of the BRICS grouping, along with Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa. Now this group is expanding to encompass Saudi Arabia and other new members. What are the elements of cooperation here?

GEORGE  The fact that this group existed for so many years and is even now expanding shows that it had been doing something good. India is a member of many groups—BRICS, the Quad, and so on. There are basically two things governing our foreign policy: one, the welfare of the people of India, and two, the common global good. We are happy to be a part of any forum that contributes to both of these.

What does India bring to the table? Our 1.4 billion people living in democracy. The fastest-growing large economy. A digitally connected young population. A strategic, autonomous foreign policy. In short, we bring one sixth of the world’s population to the table, but not one sixth of its problems—we bring solutions.

INTERVIEWER  India maintains its nonaligned status.

GEORGE  As I said, we focus on two concepts—whether something will benefit our people, and whether it serves the global good. I think that if you have these two right, you will find that you are always in the right forum, with the right approach.

INTERVIEWER  What about the Quad? How are your relations with Australia, the United States, and Japan?

GEORGE  India has excellent bilateral relations with each of our Quad partners. There are certain things—our status as democracies, for instance—that connect us as like-minded countries placing similar importance on things like stability, peace, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. These are all closely tied with our focus on the common global good.

When we work together for things like FOIP, the Free and Open Indo-Pacific concept championed by Japan, I don’t think we have any other country in mind. Our intention is clear. We want this freedom and openness so that every country in the region has access to the resources the region has to offer.

INTERVIEWER  I’ve worked in the GATT and WTO organizations, where our goal has always been to reduce tariffs. It’s been successful until recently. Now that US President Donald Trump is focusing on tariffs as a diplomatic weapon, do you think he will be effective, or does it go against the principles we’ve worked on so far?

GEORGE  It is essential to examine how well multilateral organizations like the WTO have performed. There have been challenges, including countries not always following the rules. For the system to remain effective, it will need to become more just to prevent countries from seeking alternatives.

INTERVIEWER  When Japan’s Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi went to Washington for Trump’s inauguration, he met his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. They agreed to a bilateral initiative on science and technology exchange.

GEORGE  Our historical and civilizational connections are strong. But one important area is science and technology. A lot is happening in academic collaboration in these fields. But there’s a huge scope for expansion. We now have around 600 connections between Indian and Japanese institutes of higher learning. We need to expand this.

India has done well in space, recently, with indigenous technology as the core. But there’s room for collaboration here. This is where we want to focus energy to that the momentum keeps going.

INTERVIEWER  Is this where you’ll be focusing in your participation in the Osaka Expo later this year?

GEORGE  We will be focusing on our technological advancement: space, AI, semiconductors, robotics. We have the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world. Japan has many small and medium-sized outfits that could take advantage of India to become truly big. Bring your technology to us and succeed. This is what we hope to achieve in our bilateral initiative.

INTERVIEWER  Having been here for a couple of years now, what are your view on Japan, its characteristics?

GEORGE  Let me tell you this: Every Indian has always loved Japan. As an inspiring role model economically, the first Asian nation to become a developed economy. Over my last two years I’ve visited all forty-seven prefectures. Fifty universities. I’ve seen how Japan is a very important player in all fields—tech, scientific advancement, research. We are very happy to work with Japan.

Personally, I’ve always enjoyed the warmth with which I’ve been received in every part of the country.

INTERVIEWER  There’s a significant Indian population in Japan.

GEORGE  Yes, about 45,000. And the number is growing. I see a lot of engineers coming to Japan, particularly in fields like IT, AI, the health sector, and finance. Of course India is very good here. What are the ideal qualities for a CFO? Integrity, loyalty, knowledge of accountancy, and mathematics. We have it all.

INTERVIEWER  In closing, are there any comments you’d make to the Japanese? Any areas where they should be focusing on improvements?

GEORGE  It’s not so much a question of improvement on one side or the other. There are so many areas where we can do things together. India’s growth story is Japan’s growth story. I mentioned the 1,500 Japanese companies active in India. Let’s make it 15,000. Imagine the returns it can bring to Japan! India is an investment opportunity—and not only one that benefits India. We’re doing it for the rest of the world. Africa. The Middle East. This is big. I urge Japanese companies to expand into India—for Japan, for India, and for the rest of the world.

And of course I’d like to see many more Indians working in Japan. Students studying here, too. And when you bring students in to study, let them work in the country after they finish their academic work. It’s great for us both.

INTERVIEWER  I agree! Thank you very much for your time today.

GEORGE  Thank you!

(Originally written in English based on a January 21, 2025, interview at the Indian Embassy in Tokyo. Interviewer Akasaka Kiyotaka is president of the Nippon Communications Foundation. Banner photo © Nippon.com.)