Shinzo Abe: Japan PM in India, bullet train deal on cards

Shinzo Abe will be in India for two days

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is on a two-day visit to India, where he is expected to announce a deal for India's first bullet train.

On Thursday, India approved the $14.7bn (£9.7bn) deal for Japan to build the high-speed train line.

The highly-anticipated multi-billion-dollar deal is being seen as one of the biggest foreign investments in India's ageing infrastructure.

China is also bidding to build high-speed bullet train lines in India.

Mr Abe will meet business and government leaders and visit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's constituency of Varanasi on Saturday.

The two leaders are expected to discuss defence ties and a civil nuclear agreement, in addition to finalising the agreement on the train line.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told the AFP news agency that the visit would strengthen cooperation in a "wide range of fields".

Mr Abe and Mr Modi had agreed at a 2014 summit in Tokyo to accelerate talks on a nuclear energy pact.

They also agreed to strengthen security ties and Mr Modi welcomed Japan's easing of restrictions on exports of defence equipment and technology.

The two leaders enjoy a close friendship and Mr Modi chose Japan as the destination for his first bilateral visit outside South Asia after he was elected prime minister in May 2014.