India seeks nuclear deal with Japan

Indian PM to also pitch for investments in India’s renewable energy sector.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is also expected to encourage Japanese companies to invest in India. He will visit Japan from Monday through Thursday.

"It will be my effort to use this visit to strengthen our strategic and global partnership, which also includes trying to reach an agreement with regard to civil nuclear energy cooperation,” Singh said.

“I do recognize there are problems in Japan and there are elections to the upper house which take place later this year. But, I do hope that we can make progress in the civil nuclear energy cooperation."

Singh also called on Japanese industry to contribute toward India's economic growth.

"I invite the business community of Japan to take full advantage of enormous opportunities at our opening up a liberalized Indian economy," he said, adding there is an enormous scope for Japanese companies to invest in India, particularly in manufacturing and clean and renewable energy.

"We have plans to invest about US$1 trillion in infrastructure in the 12th five-year plan; that is 2012-2017. And I see an enormous role for the Japanese industry to contribute not only to infrastructure development of India, but also to accelerate the tempo of the manufacturing sector in India's economy," he said.