Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who landed in Tokyo for his two-day visit to attend the Quad summit, was greeted with a cheerful welcome from a vibrant Indian diaspora.
Upon his arrival, PM Modi tweeted that he will be taking part in various programmes during this visit including the Quad Summit, meeting fellow Quad leaders, interacting with Japanese business leaders and the Indian diaspora.
“Japan’s Indian community has made pioneering contributions in different fields. They have also remained connected with their roots in India. I thank the Indian diaspora in Japan for the warm welcome,” said PM Modi.
Exuberant Indians were waiting at a hotel in Tokyo to welcome the Indian Prime Minister and broke into “Modi, Modi”, “Bharat Ma ka sher” (the lion of India) cheers, while a few chanted “Jai Shree Ram”.
PM Modi, known to be fond of children, is often seen interacting with them in his domestic and foreign tours. The ongoing Tokyo visit was not an exception as the PM spoke to children in high spirit.
In one of the viral videos from Tokyo, PM Modi can be seen interacting with one of the Japanese children, who was heard talking in Hindi. Impressed with the child’s enthusiasm to learn an Indian language, PM Modi raised him for his fluency in the language and asked, “Waah! Where did you learn Hindi from? You speak it pretty well.”
#WATCH | “Waah! Where did you learn Hindi from?… You know it pretty well?,” PM Modi to Japanese kids who were awaiting his autograph with Indian kids on his arrival at a hotel in Tokyo, Japan pic.twitter.com/xbNRlSUjik
— ANI (@ANI) May 22, 2022
He also saw the drawing of a young girl and signed an autograph for her during his interaction with the children.
Besides Modi, the Quad summit in Tokyo on May 24 will be attended by US President Joe Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Australian prime minister-elect Anthony Albanese. “In Japan, I will also participate in the second in-person Quad Leaders’ Summit, which will provide an opportunity for the leaders of the four Quad countries to review the progress of Quad initiatives,” Modi said in his departure statement.
“We will also exchange views about developments in the Indo-Pacific region and global issues of mutual interest,” said Modi, whose visit to Japan is taking place under the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The Quad or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue comprises India, the US, Japan and Australia.
Modi, who is visiting Tokyo at the invitation of his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida, will hold separate bilateral meetings with Biden, Kishida and Albanese on the sidelines of the summit. He had hosted Kishida for the 14th India-Japan Annual Summit in March 2022.
“During my visit to Tokyo, I look forward to continuing our conversation further, with an aim to strengthen the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership,” Modi said ahead of his visit. He said economic cooperation between India and Japan is an important aspect of their Special Strategic and Global Partnership.
Modi also said that he is looking forward to a bilateral meeting with newly-elected Australian Prime Minister Albanese during which the multifaceted cooperation between the two countries under the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, and regional and global issues of mutual interest will be discussed.
(With PTI inputs)
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