In a coordinated statement, Japan and India will announce Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan from August 31 to September 3 on Friday.
The announcement is being made after two earlier plans > to visit Japan had to be postponed by Mr. Modi, who is keen on making Tokyo one of his first bilateral destinations.
During the visit, Mr. Modi will hold talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who will host a banquet dinner for him.
High on Mr. Modi’s agenda is the conclusion of the India-Japan civil nuclear agreement, so that Japan could supply nuclear technology to India.
According to a source close to the negotiations, several differences have yet to be ironed out, and it could not be confirmed if the agreement, which has been under negotiation since 2010, will be ready for signing.
It is learnt that the Japanese government, that is facing domestic pressure against the deal since India is not a signatory to the NPT, wants extra “conditionalities and safeguards” over the use of nuclear transfers, over and above what India has already agreed to with other countries.
A Deputy Minister will travel from Tokyo next week as a special envoy to help iron out the differences, while Indian Ambassador to Japan Deepa Gopalan Wadhwa was in Delhi ahead of the announcement of the date for the visit. During the visit, India will also hope to sign agreements for infrastructural investment for the government’s “smart cities” initiative, with Japan proposing project development agreements on high-speed railways, industrial corridors like the DMIC (Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor) and highway construction.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj met with her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida on the sidelines of the India-ASEAN meeting in Myanmar earlier this week, and sources tell The Hindu, Japan is keen to help India improve road-links and rail-links through the north-eastern States to ASEAN countries.
