"The first round of negotiation for the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and Japan has already taken place and it will take at least two years for the agreement to take a final shape," Japanese Ambassador to India Yasuki Enoki said at the 34th joint India-Japan joint business cooperation meeting.

Once the agreement is clinched, the two countries "can corner 60 per cent of the Asian GDP," Enoki said.

India, on its part, said partnerships between companies of the two countries would be a marriage that is "set to rule the century."

"India is a low cost economy with very high quality human resource base and offers much more opportunities than China," Union Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said, inviting Japanese businessmen to the country.

He promised investors a level-playing field, sound financial system, low custom duties and young manpower. The strategy of the companies should be to use cost effective technologies and penetrate the market.

"Let there be joint ventures to bring together Japanese technology and potential Indian market as it would enable access to the world market," Sibal added.

Infrastructure, chemicals, telecom and transportation are some sectors that Japanese firms can invest and look at potential tie-ups with their Indian counterparts, he added.