NEW DELHI - India and Japan will hold their first "economic dialogue" today, a move reflecting closer trading ties between two of Asia's biggest democracies, the Indian government said.

The meeting in New Delhi comes after Japan and India signed a free-trade pact last year, under which the high-tech nation and the South Asian emerging-market giant will scrap tariffs on 94 per cent of goods within a decade.

The first India-Japan Ministerial-level Economic Dialogue will focus on boosting trade and economic ties, India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement last Saturday.

"A number of senior ministers and officials from both India and Japan will participate in the ministerial-level economic dialogue," the ministry said.

Japan has warming commercial and political ties with India, although its activities in South Asia are only a fraction of its investment in China. It is also keen to forge regional partnerships to offset Beijing's growing might.

Japanese carmakers have launched a series of new investments in India, mostly around the southern city of Chennai, with the South Asian country an attractive market for Japan due to its growing middle class.