Japanese PM Abe arrives in New Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 21: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, accompanied by a 200-strong delegation of business leaders, arrived here today on a three-day visit to strengthen the bilateral ties with India. Abe's visit is expected to speed up negotiations for a free-trade deal between the two countries, and also lead to more Japanese investment.

During his visit, Abe will meet President Pratibha Patil, besides Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other dignitaries.

He will also address a joint session of Parliament.

A Japan-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), including free trade in goods and services as well as investment promotion measures, is expected to figure in talks between Abe and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh.

Abe's visit assumes significance as India is eyeing Japanese cooperation in civilian nuclear energy to meet the country's growing demand for electricity.

While Japanese firms may be keen to build nuclear power plants in India, which may be made possible following India's landmark deal with the United States, officials said the issue was unlikely to be high on the agenda when Abe meets Manmohan Singh.

"I don't think we would ask them for support to the nuclear deal... I think we will naturally discuss the international framework for civil nuclear cooperation and how it should be changed," Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon said on Monday.

The Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) will also come for discussion. The DMIC is a flagship project of the Special Economic Partnership Initiative between New Delhi and Tokyo envisioned during Singh's visit to Japan last year.

Cooperation in the area of space research and education is also expected to be discussed.

ANI>