PM Modi leaves for 3-day visit to Japan today

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has left for Japan today on a three day visit to attend the annual Summit meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and have an audience with the Emperor of Japan in Tokyo tomorrow.

Ahead of his visit, the Prime Minister in a statement said yesterday that from Tokyo, he along with Mr. Abe will travel to Kobe by the famed Shinkansen bullet train, the technology that will be deployed for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Railway. He will visit the Kawasaki Heavy Industries facility in Kobe, where high speed railway is manufactured. 

The Prime Minister said, the High Speed Railway cooperation between the two countries is a shining example of the strength of bilateral cooperation. He said, it will not only boost trade and investment ties, but also create skilled jobs in India, improve infrastructure and give a boost to Make in India mission. The Prime Minister’s visit reports that economic and defence



cooperation are likely to figure high on the agenda.

The summit will be an occasion for the Prime Minister to review the entire spectrum of bilateral cooperation with his Japanese counterpart in Tokyo tomorrow. Prime Minister Modi will also have a detailed interaction with top business leaders from India and Japan, to look for ways to further strengthen our trade and investment ties.The two sides are likely to sign several agreements, including on civil nuclear cooperation. Both leaders are also likely to discuss defence cooperation, including joint maritime exercises between Japan, India and the US. 

The South China Sea is also likely to figure in the talks. During Mr. Modi's visit to Japan in 2014, the India-Japan relationship was upgraded to Special Strategic and Global Partnership. In the New Delhi summit of 2015, India and Japan outlined a Vision of Working Together for Peace and Prosperity in the Indo-Pacific Region and the World.