New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi came home Wednesday after concluding his successful visit to Japan during which the East Asian country pledged to give USD 35 billion in India in the next five years for development projects.
During his visit, the Prime Minister Modi not only surprised everyone by his oratory skills, but also left the audience spellbound by his percussion skills when the Japanese percussionists joined to make a 'jugalbandi' with them.
India and Japan during the PM stay, decided to strengthen cooperation in defense and other strategic areas and also signed five pacts covering defense exchanges, cooperation in clean energy, roads and highways, health care and women while they committed themselves to their relationship to the next level.
Japan also lifted the ban on six Indian entities including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) which had been imposed in the aftermath of 1998 nuclear tests.
During the five-day visit, the first outside the subcontinent since he became PM in May, Modi invited Japanese investments while hard selling India as a favorable destination for companies particularly for the manufacturing sector.
He told the Japanese businessmen that India was waiting for investments with a 'red carpet' and not the bureaucracy as the rules and procedures have been softened by his government.
Settlement official program on Tuesday, Modi had expressed gratitude to Japan for reposing "confidence" in India and demonstrates his friendship with a joke "Yeh Fevicol jod mazboot itself be zyada hai (this bond is stronger than that of Fevicol) ".
"This visit has been very successful," Modi said in the Indian community reception hosted in his honor here before.
"There has been talk of billions and millions. But never talk of billions," he said, referring to JPY 3.5 trillion (USD 35 billion or Rs 2,10,000 crore) promised by Japan to India through public and private funds over five years for various works, including the creation of smart cities and cleanliness of the river Ganges.
During the talks between Modi and Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, the two sides agreed to enhance defense and strategic cooperation to a new level and also decided to accelerate negotiations on civil nuclear agreement could not be held now.
Achieving good personal chemistry, the two leaders had "very fruitful" exchanges.
Abe also went out of his way to get Modi in Kyoto when he was there on August 30 in the first leg of his five-day tour.
At Kyoto, an agreement under which it would occur in Lok Sabha constituency Modi Varanasi in the pattern of Kyoto 'smart city' with the help of Japan was signed.
Abe also announced that as an example of Indo-Japanese Cooperation, Tokyo will help India in providing financial, technical and operational support to introduce bullet trains, a project that Modi has been actively pursuing.
"This is not only to raise the ratio from one category to another ... Our relationship is not only in its regional context, but will have a global impact," Modi, who ended his five-day visit to Japan, said.
