Prime Minister Narendra Modi landed in Tokyo on Saturday night at around 10.30 pm JST (7 pm IST) for a two-day bilateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.
“Landed in Tokyo. I am confident this visit will add new vigour to the strong friendship between India and Japan,” tweeted the PM immediately upon landing in Japan where he is scheduled to attend the 13th India-Japan Annual Summit.
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The Annual Summit will also be the fifth between Shinzo Abe and PM Modi.
“PM @narendramodi arrives in #Tokyo to a warm welcome for his 5th Annual Summit with @AbeShinzo. Japan is one of the few countries that India has this mechanism of annual summits, reflecting the extraordinary depth of our engagement,” tweeted MEA spokesperson Ravish Kumar.
Members of the Indian diaspora in Japan were seen enthusiastically greeting the PM on his arrival at the hotel in Tokyo.
While the current visit marks the third trip to Japan by PM Modi, he has met Abe 12 times since 2014.
The Summit, which will begin on Sunday, will focus on cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and in the defence and security sector besides leveraging Japanese capabilities for India’s development initiatives.
India is the only country with which Japan holds annual bilateral summits. The only other country with which India has a similar arrangement is Russia.
In a special gesture, PM Modi will be hosted by Abe for a private dinner at his holiday home in the picturesque Yamanashi Prefecture on 28 October. According to reports, it is the first time that the Japanese Prime Minister is extended such a reception for a visiting head of the government of a foreign country.
PM Modi will visit the automation and robotic firm FANUC in Yamanashi, which is located close to Mount Fuji, before attending the dinner.
The two leaders are set to travel together to Tokyo on Sunday night by train.
On Monday, the PM will attend a community reception by the Indian diaspora in the Japanese capital before holding talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko.
The PM will then meet the heads of Japanese venture capital companies and captains of Japanese industry before attending a meeting with the representatives of the India-Japan Business Leaders Forum.
He will hold delegation level talks with Abe on Monday evening.
In a statement released on Friday, before leaving for Japan, PM Modi described India and Japan a “winning combination” and said the island nation is New Delhi’s most trusted partner in its economic and technological modernisation.
He said India’s partnership with Japan is of great substance and purpose.
“We have a special strategic and global partnership. Our ties with Japan, both economic and strategic, stand completely transformed in recent years. It is today a partnership of great substance and purpose. It rests on the strong pillars of India’s Act East Policy, and our shared vision and commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” he said.
He said, as democracies, the two countries have shared values and they seek peace and prosperity for all.
“Our complementarities make India and Japan a winning combination. Japan today is one of the most trusted partners in India’s economic and technological modernisations and one of the top investors in India,” he pointed out.
The prime minister said that projects such as Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail and Dedicated Freight Corridors reflect the high level and “strength of our economic engagement”.
“Japan is also at the forefront of engaging in our national initiatives, such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Digital India’, ‘Start Up India’… Japanese investors have faith in India’s economic future, which is marked with myriad opportunities,” Modi said.
