Japanese PM Shinzo Abe set to visit India: Here's what to expect?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will be in Gujarat for three days from September 13.

The visit, which will be Abe's first since December 2015, is part of an agreement between the leaders to make alternating bilateral visits. Modi visited Japan in November last year.

Besides laying the foundation stone for the Rs 1.1 lakh-crore Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train project, a lot will be at stake for both Tokyo and New Delhi as recent developments in the region, especially on the security front, have tested their diplomatic acumen and strategic maturity.

Abe wants to reach an agreement with Modi to strengthen bilateral cooperation on maritime security, apparently to address China's growing activities in the East and South China seas and the Indian Ocean, the sources said.

After arriving in Ahmedabad on September 13 afternoon, Modi and Abe will first visit Sabarmati Ashram, before heading for a heritage hotel in the old city area. "The Japanese PM will be accorded a very warm welcome.

During Abe's three-day visit, India and Japan are likely to take their bilateral relationship forward and ink a number of deals.

Here's what all we can expect from the Japanese PM's India visit:

The two prime ministers will also launch a couple of projects, including the Rs 3,000-crore Suzuki car manufacturing plant at Hansalpur, about 170 km from Ahmedabad, using a remote.

The Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) that India is planning to develop along with Japan is also expected to feature in the talks.

The next day, both the leaders will visit Sabarmati railway station in Ahmedabad where they will lay the foundation stone of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor or the bullet train project.

An MoU has already been signed between Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and India's Railway Ministry for the 508-km corridor, of which two-thirds is expected to fall within Gujarat.

Thereafter, Modi and Abe will head to Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar where they will participate in delegation-level talks.

"A parallel CEO conference will also be held at the same venue, where representatives from both India and Japan will participate.

A maritime security deal is also on the cards given their growing cooperation in the maritime realm.

Earlier in July this year, India, Japan, and the United States had brought in their biggest naval assets to the Malabar naval exercises in the Bay of Bengal. Given that Japan maintains a base in Djibouti and the Indian Ocean is a key conduit for the net energy importer, a maritime cooperation deal could mark a new high in the maritime ties between India and Japan. The two nations have also been holding a bilateral naval exercise, the JIMEX, since 2012.

Another big area of cooperation could be in the field of civilian nuclear energy, given that the Japan-India civilian nuclear deal recently came into force. This is a big leap of faith for Japan as the only country to have suffered from the impact of atomic weapons, especially since India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

OneIndia News (with agency inputs)