PM Modi at the Tokyo airport on Sunday. (PTI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold summit talks with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Tokyo today to bolster bilateral security and economic ties. The two leaders, who share cordial relations, will have a substantive summit meeting during which they will look at ways to take the Strategic and Global Partnership forward. (
To Japan With Love: PM Narendra Modi's Visit in Pictures)
Mr Modi has a substantive agenda during the trip which he hopes will "write a new chapter" in bilateral ties and take the Strategic and Global Partnership to a higher level. (
PM Modi's Day Out in Kyoto, With Varanasi on Mind)
Cooperation in the fields of defence, civil nuclear, infrastructure development and rare earth material is expected to top the agenda of the discussions. (
'I am Modi and you are Mori', PM told Temple Priest in Japan)
Some agreements, including in defence and civil nuclear sectors, are expected to be signed. Among the agreements to be signed is one on joint production of rare earth materials.
"I am keenly looking forward to my visit to Japan at the invitation of my good friend, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for the annual summit between India and Japan," Mr Modi had said in his pre-departure statement. (
In Japan, PM Modi Proves He Never Forgets a Face)
Noting that this will be his first bilateral visit outside the immediate neighbourhood as Prime Minister, he said it underlines "the high priority" that Japan receives in India's foreign and economic policies.
"It is also a reflection of Japan's paramount importance in my vision for development and prosperity in India and in peace, stability and prosperity in Asia at large," Mr Modi said.
"I am confident that my visit will write a new chapter in the annals of the relations between Asia's two oldest democracies and take our Strategic and Global Partnership to the next higher level," he said.
During his two-day stay in Kyoto, Mr Modi witnessed signing of a pact under which his constituency Varanasi will be developed as a 'smart city' in partnership with the Japanese
city, which is a confluence of heritage and modernity.
Mr Abe had specially come to Kyoto from Tokyo to meet Mr Modi. The Japanese Prime Minister rarely greet a foreign leader outside the national capital.
On the second day of his Japan tour, Mr Modi on Sunday offered prayers at two prominent ancient Buddhist temples in Kyoto and sought help from a Japanese Nobel Prize-winning stem cell researcher to develop a treatment for Sickle Cell Anaemia, a deadly disease commonly found among tribal people in India.
In Kinkakuji temple, the Prime Minister mingled with tourists and visitors and posed for photographs with groups of people.
He began his day with a visit to the ancient Toji Temple. He was accompanied by his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe at the famous temple which is a UNESCO world heritage site.