Japan will provide $12 billion of soft loans to build India’s first bullet train, the two nations announced during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that also yielded deeper defense ties and a plan for civil nuclear cooperation.
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“We also appreciate the sharp increase in Japanese bilateral assistance and the strength of public and private Japanese commitment for the Make in India mission”, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japan Shinzo Abe Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe are holding a bilateral meeting in Delhi today.
“No less historic is decision to introduce high speed rail on Mumbai-Ahmedabad sector through Japan’s Shinkansen known for speed, reliability, and safety”.
Modi said, India and Japan will work together in East Asia Summit to promote an inclusive, balanced and open regional architecture and maritime security in the region. Highlighting the shared commitment of India and Japan to combat climate change is equally strong, he said: “We are engaged in a wide-ranging collaboration in clean energy and energy efficiency technologies that will also create solutions for the benefit of others in the world”.
PM Modi said, “Bullet trains enterprise will revolutionise Indian Railways., and will become the engine of economic transformation in India by speeding up India’s journey into the future”.
The two leaders also agreed a long-mooted memorandum of understanding on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, which will be signed once technical details are finalised, a spokesman for India’s foreign ministry said on Twitter.
“No friend will matter more in realising India’s economic dreams than Japan”. Referring to recent growth in Index of Industrial Production numbers, the Prime Minister said, it reflects that India is a country of opportunities, especially in the light of the global economic slowdown.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday described the agreements as a new era of cooperation between the two countries. Terming defence pacts as “decisive steps in our security cooperation”, Modi said they will deepen the defence relations and promote defence manufacturing in India. We have also advanced our regional partnership in the course of the year.
“In recognition of our special relationship, India will extend “visa on arrival” to all Japanese citizens from 1st March 2016″.
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The visit assumes significance as it comes against the backdrop of Partner City Agreement between Kyoto and Varanasi, Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency, signed by the two leaders during the Prime Minister’s visit to Japan in August previous year. “This is different from the electronic visa facility that is being extended globally”, Modi said.
