"The Japan-India Initiative for Industrial Research and Development (JIIRD) is a unique concept to be set up by us with the participation of Indian government and its industry and their Japanese counterparts," Minister for Science and Technology Kapil Sibal said Wednesday.

"The industries at both ends will decide what area they wanted to work with and the government would come in with its support and backing," Sibal told reporters here.

The two sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to this effect at Kuantan, in Pahang State, Tuesday evening, Sibal and his Japanese counterpart Iwao Matsuda met there on the sidelines of the 4th Asean Informal Ministerial Meeting of Science and technology.

India and Japan are dialogue partners of Asean.