Tokyo, October 28: As a gesture of the strong friendship between India and Japan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday presented Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo with a special gift! The Prime Minister gifted his Japanese counterpart two handcrafted stone bowls made from rose quartz and yellow quartz stone and hand-woven Dhurries by the weavers of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh. The two bowls have been specially crafted on the occasion of the Prime Minister's visit to Japan for the India-Japan annual summit.

This is PM Modi's 12th meeting with Abe since he first visited Japan as prime minister in September 2014. He said India's partnership with Japan is of great substance and purpose. Adding further, PM Modi said projects such as Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail and Dedicated Freight Corridors reflect the high level and "strength of our economic engagement". Shinzo Abe to Bring Business Leaders to Beijing Amid US Trade Spat. 

PM Modi left for Japan on Saturday and is scheduled to attend the annual summit with his counterpart Shinzo Abe on October 28 and 29. In a statement Friday, before leaving for Japan, Modi described India and Japan a "winning combination" and said the island nation is New Delhi's most trusted partner in its economic and technological modernisation. Modi said that his meeting with Abe will add new vigour to the strong friendship between the two countries.

According to a report by PTI, the two-day summit beginning Sunday will seek to review the progress in ties and deepen strategic dimension of the bilateral relationship. “Prime Ministers @narendramodi and @AbeShinzo meet at Yamanashi. They would be holding talks through the day on deepening India-Japan ties,” Prime Minister Modi’s office tweeted.

During Modi's visit to Japan, Abe hosted Modi at his holiday home in the picturesque Yamanashi prefecture, west of Tokyo followed by a private dinner on Sunday. After this, both the leaders will travel to Tokyo by train. The leaders will on Monday hold a formal summit in Tokyo, during which strengthening bilateral security and economic cooperation is expected to be high on the agenda.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 28, 2018 01:21 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).