Gandhinagar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will arrive here tomorrow on a two day Gujarat visit for which elaborate security arrangements have been made and the grand rehearsal of the around 8 km long joint road-show of the two leaders from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport to historic Sabarmati Ashram of Mahatma Gandhi in Ranip area was organized today.

Meanwhile in the wake of the VVIP visit (Abe’s visit) the coastal borders of the state with largest coastline have also been sealed.

Minister of State for home Pradipsinh Jadeja took stock of the security arrangements of various venues related to the visit of the two leaders.

He said that at the main venue of the 12 th India Japan Summit, Mahatma Gandhi Mandir in Gandhinagar over 1800 policemen including one IGP, 5 SP, 2 ACP, 35 DySP, 70 PI and 150 PSI would be deployed for security arrangements. The whole venue would be put under the eyes of over 300 CCTV cameras.

Similar arrangements were being made for the other venues including the Athletics Ground near Sabarmati Ashram where Modi and Abe were to do the ground breaking for bullet train project on September 14. Tight security arrangements have also been made in an around Hotel Hyatt near Vastrapur Lake in which Abe would stay during his visit.

BRTS buses on some routes won’t ply owing to the visit of the two PMs.

During the rehearsal of the road show today on the route from Airport to Sabarmati Ashram via riverfront, Subhash bridge and RTO circle, colourfully dressed artists representing the 28 states also performed on as many selected locations. The riverfront and other parts of the city which has recently been declared as the first world heritage city by UNESCO has been decked up beautifully.

According to official schedule PM Modi would receive PM Abe at the airport at 0330 pm tomoroow and the road show would be around an hour long affair.

A senior leader of the ruling BJP said that the state government was trying to give as grand a welcome to Abe, an important and reliable ally, who had recently helped India during Dokalam stand off with China, as possible.

The two leaders will review the recent progress in the multifaceted cooperation between India and Japan under the framework of their ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ and set its future direction too, an official of the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) said here today.

A few agreements are expected to be signed between the two countries after talks between the two leaders on September 14, he said adding ‘’The visit has a wide spectrum of agenda. Japan was already engaged in infrastructure development in India with its resources and technology to expedite its growth.”

The issues pertaining to the Asia-Africa Growth Corridor, announced during Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan last year, were also likely to come up for discussion. The AAGC, an attempt of India and Japan to reach out to Africa, is being seen as a counter to the Chinese One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.
Japan is one of the few countries with which India has the mechanism of annual Summit.

Abe and Modi will hold the 12th India-Japan Annual Summit, at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar on September 14. An MoU for setting up of Japan India Institute of Manufacturing near Sanand between the government of Japan and Gujarat would also be inked.

The city of Ahmedabad will greet Prime Minister Abe with an elaborate civic reception the day he arrives showcasing the cultural diversity of India, through a series of performances.

The two Prime Ministers will visit Sabarmati Ashram (0430pm), established by Mahatma Gandhi on the banks of the Sabarmati river tomorrow. They will then visit the “Sidi Saiyyid Ni Jaali” – a famous 16th century mosque in Ahmedabad at around 1830 pm. After that PM Modi will host a dinner for Abe in the nearby Agashiye hotel in which over 100 selected cuisines would be served.

They will attend a public function in the athletics stadium close to Sabarmati railway station in Ahmedabad to mark the commencement of work of India’s first high-speed rail project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai, on September 14.

The train is expected to significantly reduce travel time between the two cities. Japan is a pioneer in high-speed rail networks, and its Shinkansen bullet trains among the fastest in the world.in the 508 km route 92 per cent will be elevated, 6 per cent in tunnel and the rest 2 per cent will be on the ground.

The two leaders will then visit Dandi Kutir, the museum dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi, near the Mahatma Mandir.

After this, 12th India-Japan Annual Summit, at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar,will take place. The two leaders will deliver statements to the media. An India Japan Business Plenary is scheduled the same day.

This will be the fourth Annual Summit between Prime Minister Modi and Prime Minister Abe. The two leaders will review the recent progress in the multifaceted cooperation between India and Japan under the framework of their ‘Special Strategic and Global Partnership’ and will set its future direction.

PM Abe, who had also visited Gujarat earlier during the tenure of Modi as the then CM, would later participate in the dinner given by incumbent CM Vijay Rupani. At around 0930 pm Abe will leave from Tokyo form here. PM Modi would also leave for New Delhi.

Notably, Abe is the second world leader to start his India visit from Gujarat. Earlier in September 2014 Chinese president Xi Jinping had made a similar visit.

DeshGujarat