IndiaJapan bonhomie on display in Guj
Road show, visit to Sabarmati Ashram mark Abe’s Day 1
MODI AND ABE WILL ALSO LAY THE FOUNDATION STONE OF THE 508KM MUMBAIAHMEDABAD HIGH SPEED RAIL IN AHMEDABAD
GANDHINAGAR: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived to an unprecedented welcome in Ahmedabad on Wednesday and stressed on the two countries playing a leading role in the Asia Pacific region, underpinning the strategic intent of the 12th annual India-Japan summit on Thursday.
Abe, who visited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency Varanasi when he was in India in 2015, was accorded a welcome rarely given to a visiting dignitary.
A road show, visit to the Sabarmati Ashram, walk around a historic mosque and private dinner at a heritage hotel in Modi’s home state Gujarat — where assembly elections are round the corner — marked the Japanese PM’s first day in India.
Modi received Abe at the airport, a warm gesture he has so far reserved for few visiting dignitaries such as former United States President Barack Obama and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
After the customary guard of honour, the leaders and Japanese First Lady Akie Abe got into an open-top van for an 8km road show cutting through the city, where people lined up on both sides of the road, waving the flags of the two countries. Abe and the First Lady sported Indian outfits throughout the evening.
The road show route was dotted with artistes who showcased the country’s cultural diversity. The two leaders then visited Sabarmati Ashram and paid respects to Mahatma Gandhi.
They also sat by the river for a while before taking a break to meet again at Sidi Saiyyid Ni Jaali — a yellow sandstone mosque built by the Gujarat sultanate in the 16th century and considered a heritage icon. From there, the leaders proceeded for a private dinner at Agashiye terrace restaurant at the heritage boutique hotel, House of MG.
A public message from Abe before his arrival in India said “both Japan and India importance on the universal values and strategic interests that we commonly share. Both countries are major Asian democracies and global powers…India-Japan relationship is blessed with largest potential in the world. I’m determined that Japan and India will lead the way towards peace and prosperity of the Indo-Pacific region and the world”.
The two countries have been calibrating ways to strengthen their ties in an effort to shape the geopolitics of the region in the face of an assertive China.
Japan was the only major power that spoke in India’s favour in the longest military standoff between the neighbours in three decades at Doklam — the India-Tibet-Bhutan tri-junction.
Modi and Abe will also lay the foundation stone of the 508km Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail in Ahmedabad on Thursday.
Once completed, the train will have a top speed of 350km per hour and reduce travel time between the two cities to around two hours from the existing seven.