In the year 2005, during discussions between the governments of Yokohama and Kanagawa, The Foreign Trade Association, and JETRO Yokohama, and the local Indian community, the potential of Indian business in Yokohama was identified as an area of focus. The idea was reinforced by the fast-growing economic ties between Japan and India in recent years. Consequently, plans began to be formulated for catering to the special needs of existing Indian businesses in Yokohama, and to facilitate the entry of new Indian companies to the City. By Spring 2006, these plans had materialised into the concept of the Yokohama India Centre (YIC) – a one-stop resource base for Indian companies in Yokohama scheduled operational in 2008.