Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday met Eiji Hashimoto, representative director and president of Nippon Steel Corporation (NSC), in Japan's Tokyo for a one-to-one meeting to discuss avenues of collaboration between NSC and the Odisha government.

According to the chief minister’s office, Hashimoto told Naveen that his company was planning to build the largest and latest steel plant with a 30-million-tonne-per-annum (MTPA) capacity in Odisha. Naveen also invited Hashimoto and his team to visit the state.

AM/NS India — a joint venture of ArcelorMittal and Nippon Steel Corporation — has already signed two MoUs with the Odisha government to set up one integrated steel plant with a 12-million-tonne capacity in Kendrapara at an investment of Rs 50,000 crore and another of seven-million-tonne capacity in Jagatsingpur at an investment of Rs 38,000 crore.

Naveen on Tuesday morning reached Japan with a high-level delegation to promote investment opportunities. The chief minister expressed his confidence that the visit would further strengthen the relationship between Japan and Odisha and provide an opportunity for both sides to explore avenues of mutual interest.

“The visit would contribute to strengthening the cultural ties between the two nations,” said Naveen.

“The visit of the chief minister and the state delegation to Japan is a significant step towards promoting Odisha as a preferred investment destination and fostering closer ties between Japan and Odisha,” said the chief minister’s office in a media release.

The release said: "The government of Odisha will be hosting the Odisha Business Meet 2023 at The Okura Tokyo on Wednesday which is expected to be attended by over 200 industrialists, business persons and investors from across Japan and the Indo-Pacific region.”

According to the schedule, the state delegation will make a factory visit to the Kimitsu Steel Works and the R&D centre of Nippon Steel Corporation on Thursday.