Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe attended the spectacular sunset Ganga Aarti at the fabled Dashashwamedh Ghat in Varanasi on Saturday, marking a new chapter in traditional cultural ties between the two countries.
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After Modi-Abe talks, the two countries signed a broadbased MoU for cooperation in civil nuclear energy with the final pact to be signed after certain technical and legal issues are thrashed out. The high-speed train project befits the dawn of a new era in the Japan-India economic relationship, he added.
Praising Modi’s reforms programme, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said, “Prime Minister Modi’s speed of implementing policies and reforms is like Shinkansen (bullet train) and his reform agenda is as safe as Shinkansen“.
Speaking on the occasion, Abe said, “Japan and India’s relation has the greatest potential in any bilateral relationship in the world”.
The Indian prime minister said Japan’s decisive role in India’s economic transformation will matter the most in realising its economic dreams.
After a meeting with business leaders this morning, Modi lauded the recent decision by Japanese-owned carmaker Maruti Suzuki to export Indian-made Baleno cars to Japan. The both sides agreed to share and transfer of Defence equipment and technology. “We have reached substantive agreement on Civilian Nuke agreement…concluding negotiations on civil nuclear cooperation with Japan is very big step”, said Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar. When the sale happens, it will be the first time in 50-years that Japan will sell military equipment.
Modi said his country will uphold the terms of the Japan-India nuclear pact.
Highlighting the strategic importance of the bilateral ties, Japan asserted that a strong India is in the interest of Japan and a strong Japan was in the interest of India.
Japan is also participating in Modi’s pet project “Make-in-India”, which aims to transform India into a manufacturing hub.
Abe, who was wearing a standard Nehru jacket, took half within the holy rituals together with Prime Minister Modi amid chants of holy mantras, flanked by clergymen.
Japan is apparently looking for additional nonproliferation guarantees before it exports nuclear reactors to New Delhi, which is not a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
After the talks, Modi also announced that Recognising our special relationship, India will extend visa on arrival to all Japanese citizens from 1st March 2016..
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“They have their number of areas of particular expertise”, the foreign secretary said, adding that the agreement would allow Japan to partner other countries and companies like Westinghouse and GE. “We proposed to Japan that we want a comprehensive partnership with them and they have agreed”. It has been demanding additional non-proliferation guarantees from India before it exports nuclear reactors.
