Takeshi Hashimoto, Representative Director, Chairman of Mitsui Osk Lines and CEO; Takahiro Sato, Tradewaltz Inc. Chairman and CEO President and CEO; And Toshihiro Suzuki, Representative Director and President of Suzuki Motor Corporation, Shake Hands in Yokohama, Japan. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Three Japanese companies – Mitsui OST Lines, Ltd., Tradewaltz Inc. and Suzuki Motor Corporation – have signed a memorandum (MoU) for cooperation in cooperation in automobile trade between India and Africa.
The announcement was made at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad 9) held in Yokohama.
The three companies said that they would collaborate to identify current challenges in business operations related to automobile transport between India and Africa, and would discover possible solutions, including digitization and promote decarbonation.
Launched at Japan -India -Africa Business Forum held in February 2025, “Recognizing the importance of Sustainable Economic Development for Sustainable Economic Development for Japan -India Cooperation initiative, recognizing the importance of the three companies, recognizing the importance between their respective businesses in India and Africa, and aiming to contribute to the economic growth in their respective businesses, and said that they said that they said.
Three companies said in a joint statement, “Announcing this MoU on the occasion of Tikad 9 is a solid first step towards creating a strong supply chain and increasing the economic connectivity of heavy, growing markets in India and Africa.”
The three companies will continue to adopt the spirit of Tikad through their initiative, working together to establish a strong automobile supply chain between India and Africa, and getting shared development together with India and Africa, she said.
“This partnership is an important step towards building a strong automobile trade corridor between India and Africa. Moving the expertise of mole in safe, sustainable transport with the innovation of our partners, we aim to create a more digital, flexible and prepared supply chain for the future.”
The major challenge in automobile trade between India and Africa is the manual processing of major documents like Bill of Loding. While Tradewaltz will address it, MOL, which is currently expanding automobile transport services from India to Africa, deploy additional capacity to meet the rapidly growing demand in this trade route.
Suzuki is supporting people’s dynamics in Africa through providing Indian -made compact cars and other products.
Suzuki said, “The demand for fuel-skilled, durable and inexpensive compact vehicles of Africa is shared by our Indian customers and the proximity of India and Africa is running this business,” Suzuki said.
Published – August 21, 2025 10:27 AM IST
