New Delhi Sep 11 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe will take part in the ground-breaking ceremony of the much-anticipated Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project on Thursday a senior official said here on Monday.
"On September 14 the two Prime Ministers in the morning will attend the ground-breaking ceremony of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad high speed rail which is a flagship project of India-Japan collaboration " Pranay Verma Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs said in a media briefing ahead of the 12th annual India-Japan bilateral summit to be held in Gandhinagar.
He said that a high-speed railway training centre will also be set up in Vadodara.
The high-speed rail project was announced during Abe s visit to India in 2015 for the 10th annual bilateral summit.
Verma said that the fact that Gujarat s capital would be hosting the bilateral meet highlighted the importance India s states were playing in the country s foreign policy.
Abe his wife and the accompanying delegation will reach Gujarat on Wednesday evening.
India and Japan will hold bilateral discussions on Thursday following which a number of agreements are expected to be signed.
An India-Japan business plenary will also be held on Thursday that will mark the culmination of a series of business events that will be held earlier in the day.
Verma said that Abe s visit reflected India s "redeeming partnership" with Japan and that country s increasing engagement with India s infrastructure and flagship development projects.
--IANS
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