Ahead of PM Modi’s Japan visit, India says bullet train project on track

NEW DELHI: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Japan on October 28 for summit talks, his counterpart Shinzo Abe will give a personal touch to his reception. Abe returns from a trip to Beijing just a day before Modi’s visit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in New Delhi. Tribune file photo

Smita Sharma
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, October 25

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to Japan on October 28 for summit talks, his counterpart Shinzo Abe will give a personal touch to his reception. Abe returns from a trip to Beijing just a day before Modi’s visit.

Modi will be the first leader invited to Abe’s second home in Yamanashi province where the two will have lunch and dinner together with a view of Mount Fuji on Sunday. The two will ride the bullet train back to Tokyo.

On October 29, Modi will address a diaspora function, engage with the India-Japan business leaders forum, hold official delegation talks with Abe and be hosted for a banquet prior to his departure.

Enhanced defence cooperation, common Indo-Pacific vision including infrastructure, connectivity and geo strategy as well as regional security will be key issues. “We presume that given the interest Japan has in issues related to the Korean peninsula and DPRK, this matter will be discussed. We will certainly raise our concerns over terrorism and other trans-border crimes which are of importance to us,” said Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale this evening.

Ahead of the visit, India also assured that contrary to reports, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail project with Japanese assistance is on track.

“Till now, we have a feeling that by the year 2022, we will be able to do so,” said Gokhale, however, adding that issues like land acquisition remain in regions like Palghar in Maharashtra but will be resolved by December this year.

Modi and Abe will discuss collaboration efforts in the neighbourhood, including LNG terminal in Sri Lanka that India and Japan are working together on.

The two sides are expected to finalise a naval implementing agreement on maritime domain awareness.

During the Modi visit, formal negotiations will begin towards an Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) ensuring mutual logistics agreement as well as discussions on collaboration on submarines will take place.

India-Japan have stepped up their defence cooperation with the two armies holding a first ground force exercise in Mizoram in November focussing on urban warfare and counter-terrorism.

In a first, Japan will also be an observer at the ‘Cope India’ exercise in December between India-US air forces.