Lucknow: Hotel chain Hotel Management International Company Limited (HMI) plans to develop 30 new hotels in the state of Uttar Pradesh as the Japanese company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of Rs 7,200 crore with the Uttar Pradesh government on the second day of the ongoing 3-day Global Investors Summit in Lucknow on Saturday.
Director, Public Relations, HMI Group, which operates more than 60 hotels in major cities of Japan, Takamoto Yokoyama, said, “UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s efforts to realise and develop the state’s tourism potential have created immense possibilities for the hotel industry. Varanasi has seen a significant increase in tourism after the development of the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Dham Corridor. For us, this is a great chance.”
He said UP’s industrial policies are encouraging. In such a situation, HMI Group will expand its hotel chain in 30 major cities, including Agra, Varanasi, and Ayodhya. Over 10,000 people will receive direct job opportunities as a result of this, he said.
Earlier, in a session on ‘Implementation of Special Strategic and Global Partnership between Japan and India in UP’, Advisor (Japan) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, Prof Ashok Chawla provided a comparative analysis of the political, strategic, economic, and cultural relations between India and Japan in different periods from 2000 to 2014 and from 2014 to 2022.
He said in 2015, the then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited India, and in 2016 Prime Minister Modi went to Japan. “Shinzo Abe came to Ahmedabad in 2017 and an action plan was made regarding high-speed rail. Later, in 2018, Prime Minister Modi went to Japan again. Deep trust has been forged between the two nations as a result of frequent visits of these top leaders and this trust has positively impacted bilateral economic relations,” he said.
There has been an unprecedented increase in investment in sectors like health, energy, logistics, hotel, artificial intelligence, textiles, steel, real estate, leather, etc. Japan Industrial Township is under development in Greater Noida, he added.
In addition to extending his warm welcome to the Japanese delegation that had traveled to the state to attend the UP GIS, he assured that the Japanese industry will get a friendly environment in Uttar Pradesh. He also pledged that the Ministry of External Affairs would provide all assistance possible to the Uttar Pradesh government in maintaining contact with the Japanese government or the Japanese business community.