NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Tokyo late Saturday for the 13th annual bilateral summit, was received Sunday with a bear hug by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at an upscale hotel in Yamanashi prefecture, which has a stunning view of Japan's highest mountain, Mount Fuji.
Officials said the two leaders spent about eight hours together, including a lunch at the hotel and a visit to industrial robotics factory where they witnessed robots assembling motors in barely 40 seconds. Later in the day, Abe hosted Modi for a private dinner at his holiday villa in Yamanashi, before they left for Tokyo, some 110 km away by train. "This is a very special gesture PM Abe is making. We believe this is the first time a foreign leader is visiting PM Abe's holiday home," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale had told journalists earlier in Delhi.
Modi gifted Abe with two handcrafted stone bowls and dhurries made from rose quartz and yellow quartz stone sourced from Rajasthan, as well as a Jodhpuri wooden chest from Rajasthan with traditional work.
Earlier, describing Modi as "one of my most dependable and valuable friends," Abe said that the annual summits are an "active driving force" for advancing bilateral relations. "I am convinced that Prime Minister Modi's visit to Japan this time will also be fruitful as our previous meetings," noting that Japan-India cooperation continued to expand broadly in many fields such as security, investment, information technology, agriculture, health, environment and tourism. He also hoped that Modi would enjoy the beautiful autumn in Japan and the picturesque surroundings of Yamanashi as much as he had enjoyed the trip to Gujarat during his visit to India for the last summit. .
On Monday, Modi will begin the day with an Indian Community event, followed by a meeting with Japanese venture capitalists, and Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade & Industry Hiroshige Seko, Foreign Minister Taro Kono, and Toshihiro Nikai, Secretary General of the ruling LDP, among others. This will be followed by a meeting of the India-Japan Business Leaders Forum and an official lunch.
Post lunch, Modi will address a 'Make in India: India-Japan Partnership in Africa & Digital Partnership' Seminar, followed by the Welcome Ceremony at Japanese Prime Minister's Office and the delegation level talks, where economic cooperation, strengthening bilateral security and the situation in the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific region is expected to be high on the agenda. This will be followed by the signing/exchange of several agreements and a joint press statement. In the evening, Modi will attend the banquet dinner hosted by Abe, before emplaning for Delhi.