Abe’s visit will deepen India-Japan ties: Modi

Mr. Abe is set to begin his three-day visit on Friday during which he will hold annual summit talks with Mr. Modi on Saturday.

Japan's prime-minister-to-be Shinzo Abe arrives at the parliament for the special diet session in Tokyo, Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012. Capitalizing on the Democrats' failure to improve the economy and its perceived lack of strong leadership, Abe led the Liberal Democratic Party to victory in parliamentary elections Dec. 16. Abe was to be named prime minister later Wednesday. He was also prime minister in 2006-2007. (AP Photo/Kyodo News) JAPAN OUT, MANDATORY CREDIT, NO LICENSING IN CHINA, HONG KONG, JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA AND FRANCE

Welcoming his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe here, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today described him as a “phenomenal leader” and said his trip will further deepen the bilateral relations.

“Liked how PM @AbeShinzo describes India-Japan ties, the rich potential & cultural bond in his piece” in a newspaper, Mr. Modi tweeted.

“India is all set to welcome its great friend & a phenomenal leader, PM @AbeShinzo. His visit will further deepen India-Japan relations,” he said in another tweet.

Mr. Abe was set to begin his three-day visit on Friday during which he will hold annual summit talks with Mr. Modi on Saturday.

They will review implementation of various decisions taken in course of last one year to enhance economic ties, particularly in the trade and investment sector.

A Rs 98,000-crore deal to build a bullet train network is among a number of agreements likely to be signed.

After the talks, Mr. Abe will visit Varanasi, which is Mr. Modi’s Parliamentary constituency, where he will attend ‘Ganga Aarti’ at famous Dasaswamedh Ghat.

Mr. Modi will accompany Mr. Abe during his nearly four-and-a-half-hour-long visit to Varanasi.