Japanese PM Shinzo Abe just bestowed a rare honour on PM Modi - find out what

PM Modi is the first private leader to be invited to his villa.

 On Sunday, PM Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe had a tete-a-tete in front of a fireplace in the Japanese PM’s private villa near Lake Kawaguchi.  PM Modi, according to MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar, is the first foreign leader to be invited to his private villa.

For the uninitiated, in Japanese culture, being invited to someone’s home is a great honour.

PM's gift for Abe

 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday presented his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe two handcrafted stone bowls and dhurries made from rose quartz and yellow quartz stone sourced from Rajasthan.
A Jodhpuri wooden chest from Rajasthan with traditional work was also presented, an official said.

The gifts were specially crafted on the occasion of Modi's visit to Japan for the two-day India-Japan annual summit. 

The bowls were crafted by master artisan Shabbirhusen Ibrahimbhai Shaikh of Gujarat's Khambhat region, which is known for its practice of stone craft since generations and is also a leading hub for exports of stone products from India. 

"The uniqueness of this craft lies in the fact that the form of the product is scooped out from a block of stone, and then shaped and refined using basic hand tools generally without any lathe machines," the official said. 

Hand-woven by the master weavers of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, the dhurrie designs show the diversity of possibilities available -- from a symmetrical repeating geometric tessellation in one, to stylistic floral motifs arranged around the classical medallion pattern in another. 

"The dhurries use two distinctive Indian colour palettes. While one uses Indigo blues, reds and sprinkles of turmeric yellows, the identifying colours that have marked Indian textiles for centuries, the other uses the muted earthy tones of the Indian landscape," the official said. 

The stone bowls and dhurries were made under the design supervision of the prestigious Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe Sunday visited a factory of industrial robot manufacturer in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo.

"Taking our cooperation to modern and advanced technologies. PM @narendramodi and PM @AbeShinzo visited the FANUC Corporation, one of the largest makers of industrial robots in the world in #Yamanashi, and toured the robotics and automation facilities," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted.

Earlier in the day, Modi was affectionately received by Abe on his arrival at Hotel Mount Fuji in the picturesque Yamanashi prefecture.

"Delighted to meet PM @AbeShinzo in the picturesque prefecture of Yamanashi," Modi tweeted.

The two leaders took a stroll in the garden.

Abe hosted a luncheon for Modi at the hotel at the foot of Mt Fuji.

He will also host Modi at his holiday home in Yamanashi for a private dinner Sunday following which both the leaders will travel to Tokyo by train.

Yamanashi, at a distance of around 110 kilometres from Tokyo, is surrounded by several mountains including Mount Fuji - the country's tallest peak at around 3,776 metres.

The two leaders will hold a formal summit Monday in Tokyo, during which strengthening bilateral security and economic cooperation is expected to be high on the agenda.

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

During the summit, Modi will engage with Abe on a range of issues including defence and regional security.

Besides bilateral issues, the two leaders are expected to deliberate on a range of regional and global issues including the situation in the Indo-Pacific region.