By Rupakjyoti Borah
The trip could see some further boosts to cooperation between the two Asian giants.
On Friday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will begin his three day visit to India, where he will meet his counterpart, Narendra Modi.
This will be the ninth time for Japan and India to hold annual summit-level talks at the prime ministerial level. Relations between the two countries began to pick up during Abe’s previous term, and he was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2014 during the tenure of former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a first for any Japanese premier. That is an indicator of the fact that closer ties with Japan enjoys bipartisan support in India.
During his visit, apart from the regular meetings he will hold, Abe is also expected to visit Varanasi, which is also the Lok Sabha constituency of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A partnership city arrangement was signed between Varanasi and Kyoto during Modi’s visit to Japan last year.
What is the significance of Abe’s visit? There are five points to keep in mind that provide important context for both what is likely to occur during this visit as well as the backdrop against which it is occurring.
Read the full story at The Diplomat