Bhubaneswar, The Odisha government on Wednesday signed a friendship agreement with Japan’s Tottori Prefecture to strengthen cooperation in economic development, tourism, culture and people-to-people exchanges, officials said.
He said the partnership should translate into tangible outcomes, including business collaborations, employment opportunities, student exchanges, tourism and cultural connections. Odisha Industries Minister Sampad Chandra Swain said the partnership would strengthen industrial cooperation, technology exchange and investment linkages while advancing skill development and technical education. The chief minister invited Japanese businesses to explore investment opportunities in Odisha’s micro, small and medium enterprises , startups, industrial clusters and skilled workforce. MSME Minister Gokulananda Mallik highlighted the potential for enterprises and startups in Odisha to develop business relationships with Tottori through technology partnerships, joint product development, manufacturing linkages, market access and exchange of business practices. The event also witnessed the signing of two memoranda of understanding between institutions from the two regions to promote startup collaboration, business linkages and human resource development. The first MoU was exchanged between Startup Odisha and the Director of Industries, Tottori Prefecture, to facilitate business matchmaking, startup exchanges, accelerator programmes, mentoring and stronger connections between enterprises and investors.
