Friday, April 29 2005 17:54 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi today (Apr 29, 2005) met President A P J Abdul Kalam who hoped the current volume of India-Japan bilateral trade of $ 4 billion would touch $ 20 billion mark in the next five years.

During their 35-minute meeting, the two leaders agreed that the volume of trade was not commensurate with the growing bilateral relations.

The discussions mainly focussed on bilateral relations and cooperation in the field of trade, science and technology and culture, Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesman S M Khan said.

The President spoke about enhancing cooperation in science and technology keeping view the core competencies of each country.

Koizumi, who had earlier visited a Delhi school, informed the President about the large number of students who were studying Japanese language in that school. They would be Ambassadors for the growing bilateral relations, he said.

Kalam stressed that there should be regular exchanges of students between the two countries.

The President said India was becoming a knowledge society through societal transformation and wealth generation. The country was moving on the path of becoming a developed country by 2020, he said.