Another key expected outcome of the visit is the expansion of India-Japan strategic and defence ties at a time when both nations are at loggerheads with China
A heavy agenda awaits Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe when he lands in Ahmedabad on Wednesday for an annual three-day summit with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Skipping New Delhi, a wide-ranging itinerary has been put in place for Abe, including laying the foundation stones for the Rs 98,000 crore Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train and a second Japanese-run industrial cluster in the state and also signing a host of MoUs. The state government of Gujarat is also planning to set up a second 1,000-hectare industrial park at Sanand, with Japan investing Rs 25,000 crore in it.
Both leaders will visit Sabarmati Ashram as well as the Dandi Kutir where an exhibition on the life of the Mahatma Gandhi will be organised. Abe will be landing in Ahmedabad in the afternoon on September 13 and will leave in the morning on September 15.
Japan will provide 85 per cent of the total project cost of $19 billion in soft loans for the bullet train. The train will reduce travel time between the two cities from eight to three hours roughly, and is expected to be complete by December 2023. It will have a capacity of 750 passengers.
Another key expected outcome of the visit is the expansion of India-Japan strategic and defence ties at a time when both nations are at loggerheads with China. While Beijing is increasing its presence in the Indian Ocean as well as increasing its military presence along land boundaries raising hackles in New Delhi. There is a similar concern in Tokyo, with China claiming rights in South-China Sea, a vital corridor for Japan and other countries in the region. Modi and Abe are likely to call for greater synergy between India's 'Act East' policy and Japan's 'Free and Open Indo-Pacific' policy, ostensibly to respond to the growing assertiveness of China.
INDO-JAPAN TIES
- Modi and Abe are likely to call for greater synergy between India’s ‘Act East’ policy and Japan’s ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’ policy, to respond to growing assertiveness of China.
- Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar said Japan can make a substantive difference to India’s nuclear industry.
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 "Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with Prime Minister Narendra Modi")
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