PM Narendra Modi leaves for 5-day visit to Japan

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi left for his five-day bilateral visit to Japan early on Saturday, accompanied by a high level delegation including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh.

Embarking on his first bilateral visit outside India's immediate neighbourhood, Prime Minister Modi said in his departure statement that his visit to Japan "underlines the high priority that Japan receives in our foreign and economic policies".

PM Modi also said that this visit is a reflection of Japan's paramount importance in his vision for development and prosperity in India and in peace, stability and prosperity in Asia at large.

The PM will first visit Japan's old capital Kyoto, where he will be joined by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

From there, he will proceed to Tokyo, to discuss the roadmap for Indo-Japan global and strategic partnership in the years ahead with his Japanese counterpart.

In his departure statement the PM also said, "I propose to celebrate these links of history and the experiences of our peoples, and impart new meaning to them. We will explore how Japan can associate itself productively with my vision of inclusive development in India, including the transformation of India's manufacturing, infrastructure sectors, energy and social sectors."

"We will discuss how to boost our defence and security cooperation, including in defence technology, equipment and industry, in line with the evolving domestic policies of the two countries. I will try to accelerate progress on the unfinished agenda of projects and initiatives that our two countries have embarked upon," he added.