PM Modi meets Kyoto mayor

Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Kyoto Mayor Daisaku Kadokawa on Sunday on the second day of his five-day state visit to Japan.

The meeting was held after a lunch hosted by the Kyoto Buddhist Association, where he said his motive behind visiting the city was to see the way the people had safeguarded its ancient and traditional cultural environment even after so many struggles.

"With time along with the culture, it has also incorporated necessities required for life. In a way, the roots of cultural heritage have led to the foundation of a modern city," said Prime Minister Modi.

He added, "In India we plan to work to develop heritage cities and that is why I wanted to understand some things."

Highlighting the importance of both science and education, the Prime Minister said that for him science was as important as culture.

"Not only Kyoto and Varanasi, Kyoto and Indian universities, industries and research institutes can also work together," he added.

He also thanked Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for welcoming him in Kyoto and spending time with him. He praised the Kyoto Buddhist Association for honouring him with a lunch invite.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also visited the famous Toji and Kinkaku-ji Temples in Kyoto, where he interacted with Japanese residents, and even posed for photographs with the delighted citizens.

He also visited the Center for iPS Cells Research and Application (CiRA) at Kyoto University.

Later in the day, Prime Minister Modi is scheduled to meet the Governor of Kyoto, Keiji Yamada, before departing for Tokyo.

Yesterday, after his arrival in Kyoto, Prime Minister Modi had witnessed the signing of the Varanasi-Kyoto Partner City affiliation Memorandum of Understanding between the Governments of India and Japan at the State Guest House in Kyoto.

The agreement was signed by Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa, Ambassador of India in Japan, and Daisaku Kadokawa, the Mayor of Kyoto.

The MoU focuses on heritage conservation, and cooperation in art, culture and academics. It will also serve as a framework for the smart heritage cities programme.

PM Modi also had an exceptionally warm and friendly conversation with his counterpart Prime Minister Shinzo Abe over a traditional Japanese vegetarian meal at the Imperial Guest House in Kyoto last evening.

The over one-and-a-half hour-long discussion between the two leaders was marked by a great deal of mutual respect and admiration and convergence of views. The two Prime Ministers spoke about the ancient cultural and religious links between the countries, which are not known widely.