Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region Jitendra Singh on Monday said Japan has specialisation in food processing units and there is huge potential for opening specialised food parks for apples, cherry, strawberry in Jammu and Kashmir.
He made the remarks during a meeting with Japanese Ambassador Kenji Hiramatsu who called on him.
An official release of the meeting said that during the meeting, Singh discussed various projects from Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh and the northeast region.
Singh mentioned that under the Technical Intern Training Programme (TITP), 12 candidates from Jammu have been selected in Japanese compes.
The Ambassador said TITP programme would be extended in the northeast with the participation of the Japanese government.
The Minister proposed that 100 students can be taken under TITP programme from Ladakh in future.
Noting that Japan shares "emotional and historical relation" with India, especially in the northeast, he said progress has been made in the level of collaboration in fields such as bullet trains, nuclear, space technology and railways.
"There is huge potential for opening specialised food parks for J-K apples, cherry, strawberry and Ladakh berry, on the lines of citrus fruit parks in the northeast," the minister said.
Singh, who is Minister of State (MoS) in PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, congratulated the Japanese Ambassador for his successful tenure in India and his contribution towards realisation of the vision of the prime ministers of two countries.
The release said that Japanese Ambassador has spent about three years and 11 months in India and his tenure has witnessed unprecedented transformation of India-Japan relations.
( With inputs from ANI )