India and Japan have discussed strengthening the collaboration in the area of skill development along with increasing bilateral technical exchanges, The Economic Times reports.

The discussion was brought up while the Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu met Union Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Minister Mahendranath Pandey in New Delhi.

The duo also discussed a proposal to speed up the Technical Internship Programme and implementing the same at a larger scale to increase employment opportunities for youth.

“Consequently, India could witness more investment from Japan in the near future. Previously, Japan indicated its ambitions to increase the number of Japanese companies in India, and its will to empower the Indian youth with more technical skills,” an official statement said.

Both the countries had signed a memorandum of cooperation on the Technical Training Programme under which Indian technical interns are sent to Japan for the on-the-job training for a period of three to five years.