Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry and Mr. Akira Amari, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Japan for cooperation in the field of Intellectual Property Rights at Tokyo.
Capacity building, human resource development and public awareness programmes are the three main areas of cooperation covered in the MoU. Information exchange and experience sharing are also envisaged in the agreement.
Both countries will draw up Annual Action Plans to implement the MoU which will include the detailed planning for carrying out of the co-operation activities including the scope of the action. It is hoped that the MoU will go a long way in fostering the cooperation between India and Japan.
The MoU follows the Joint Statement towards Japan-India Strategic and Global Partnership made by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Mr. Shinzo Abe on 15th December, 2006 which confirmed the willingness of the two Governments to continue to co-operate in capacity building activities in intellectual property, including in developing human resources.