After 'monkey' business, PM Narendra Modi, Shinzo Abe review joint jobs in India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Osaka on Thursday, his first bilateral meet on the sidelines of the 14th G20 Summit in Japan. He invoked the Three Wise Monkeys from Mahatma Gandhi's teachings to emphasise the bond between the two cultures, saying the roots of the allegory lay in 17th Century Japan.

This was the Prime Minister first meeting with his Japanese counterpart in his 2nd term, and he took the opportunity to thank PM Abe for being the first to congratulate him on his electoral victory in May. He also congratulated the people of Japan on their new Reiwa era, which began on 1st May 2019 after Emperor Akihito's eldest son, Naruhito, ascended the throne as Japan's 126th emperor. President Ram Nath Kovind will represent India at the enthronement ceremony on 22 October.

The two nations agreed to hold a '2+2' dialogue between their Defence and Foreign Ministers, ahead of PM Abe's visit to India for the India Japan Annual Summit but did not fix a date.

The two leaders also briefly discussed Asia-Pacific connectivity and joint infrastructure programs in neighbouring countries such as Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. PM Modi also appreciated Japan's role in infrastructure projects in the northeastern states. There was also a brief discussion on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed railway corridor and both leaders reviewed progress on the convention centre being built in Varanasi. Tokyo and New Delhi have an agreement on building a convention centre in PM Modi' constituency.

"When the last meeting took place," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said on Thursday, "The 'Act East forum' was formed and we have held three meetings so far and the number of projects, bridges, forestry projects, road building projects have been initiated." The Prime Minister arrived on Thursday in Japan for a three-day visit.

—Zee Media Newsroom