Japanese PM arrives on two-day India visit

Ahmedabad: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived here on Wednesday on a two-day visit to India during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and both will lay the foundation stone of the ambitious Rs 1.08 lakh crore ($17 billion) Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train project.

In a special gesture, Modi personally received Abe with a warm hug at the Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport here.

The two leaders are scheduled to visit the historic Sabarmati Ashram and the iconic 16th century mosque in the old city, Sidi Saiyad Mosque, on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Modi and Abe will participate in the ground breaking ceremony of the high-speed rail project at the Athletic Stadium near Sabarmati railway station.

Thereafter, they will hold the 12th Annual Bilateral Summit in Gandhinagar following which a number of agreements are expected to be signed.

This will be the fourth annual summit between Modi and Abe, where they are expected to review the progress in the multifaceted cooperation between India and Japan under the framework of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership.

Japan is one of only two countries with which India has such an annual summit mechanism, the other being Russia.

The two Prime Ministers will also attend an India-Japan Business Leaders Forum.