Two-member delegation from Hamamatsu, Japan, visited Coimbatore to strengthen collaboration

Coimbatore industries are exploring opportunities to collaborate with those at Hamamatsu, which is a major industrial hub in Japan.

A 13-member delegation from Corporate Connections, Coimbatore, visited Hamamatsu in June this year where they engaged with leading industries and met the Mayor of Hamamatsu city to explore avenues for collaboration. In reciprocation of that visit, Coimbatore hosted a two-member delegation from Hamamatsu – Deputy Mayor Naito Shinjiro and Industries Department Head Kitajima Hideaki – for two days.

The visit aimed to strengthen business relations between Hamamatsu and Coimbatore, identify bilateral trade and investment opportunities, and promote partnerships in key sectors such as sea water desalination technologies and automotive-related industries, including parts manufacturing and precision engineering.

Veda Bestin, National Director of Corporate Connections, who led the meeting on Friday, said there is scope for collaboration between the two cities in textiles, IT, healthcare, food, precision engineering, and education. There can be technology exchange too. “Practically, we are looking at collaborations,” she said.

Ashok Bhakthavatsalam, Managing Director of KGiSL Infrastructures, said the Indian delegation visited Tokyo and Hamamatsu and the discussions in Coimbatore will lead to more collaborations. Japan needs well-trained manpower. There are over 30,000 industries at Hamamatsu and many of these are SMEs. They want to expand globally and also require manpower. Skill training centres can be set up here, he said.

Mr. Shinjiro said that while there is a need for manpower for the industries at Hamamatsu, the units use IT and AI and are looking at opportunities to collaborate.