Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe ahead of the two-day G20 Summit slated to take place in Osaka on Friday.
Abe congratulated PM Modi for an overwhelming win in the Lok Sabha elections. He further said he was looking forward to his visit to India later this year for the Annual Summit.
Modi, in turn, thanked Shinzo Abe for the wishes adding that Japan was the first friend nation of India to congratulate the PM on phone.
The Prime Minister also expressed his gratitude for the warm welcome accorded to him by the Japan government.
Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said both the leaders had a very constructive and detailed discussion on the bilateral relationship.
PM Abe referred specifically to PM Modi’s initiative in earlier G20 meetings on the issue of fugitive economic offenders and said that G20 should deal with the problem as part of its anti-corruption measures, Gokhale further said.
The leaders also held a brief discussion on Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway as well as the convention centre in Varanasi and also reviewed the progress in this regard.
This was the first such meeting between Narendra Modi and Shinzo Abe since the start of Japan’s Reiwa era.
Many aspects of India-Japan relations were also discussed.
Modi arrived in the Japanese city of Osaka earlier on Thursday. According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Modi “will elaborate on many issues of global importance and present India’s viewpoint” during the summit.
During the two days, Modi will meet other world leaders including US President Donald Trump and also hold a trilateral meeting on the sidelines of the summit with Russian and Chinese Presidents Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, respectively.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Modi-Trump meet amidst differences between the two countries on trade, Iran oil, Russian missile deal and H-1B visa issue.