PM Modi Arrives in Japan to Attend 2-Day Summit With Shinzo Abe

Tokyo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi Saturday arrived in Japan to attend the 13th India-Japan annual summit with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe.

The two-day summit beginning on Sunday will seek to review the progress in ties and deepen strategic dimension of the bilateral relationship.

"Landed in Tokyo. I am confident this visit will add new vigour to the strong friendship between India and Japan," Modi said in a tweet.

In a statement on Friday, before leaving for Japan, Modi described India and Japan as a "winning combination" and said the island nation was New Delhi's most trusted partner in its economic and technological modernisation.

He said India's partnership with Japan was of great substance and purpose.

"We have a special strategic and global partnership. Our ties with Japan, both economic and strategic, stand completely transformed in recent years. It is today a partnership of great substance and purpose. It rests on the strong pillars of India's Act East Policy, and our shared vision and commitment to a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific," he said.

Modi said it will be his 12th meeting with Abe since he first visited Japan as prime minister in September 2014.

He said, as democracies, the two countries shared values and seek peace and prosperity for all.

"Our complementarities make India and Japan a winning combination. Japan today is one of the most trusted partners in India's economic and technological modernisations and one of the top investors in India," he pointed out.

The PM said projects such as Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail and Dedicated Freight Corridors reflect the high level and "strength of our economic engagement".

"Japan is also at the forefront of engaging in our national initiatives, such as 'Make in India', 'Skill India', 'Digital India', 'Start Up India'... Japanese investors have faith in India's economic future, which is marked with myriad opportunities," Modi said.