Prime Minister Narendra Modi today held first bi-lateral meeting with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe in Osaka ahead of the G-20 summit. Addressing the meet, Mr Modi expressed his gratitude to his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe for the warm welcome the Japanese government have accorded to the Indian delegation. Mr Modi said Mr Abe was the first friend to congratulate him after his party won in the general elections.
Speaking to reporters later, Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said India and Japan today agreed to expand the strategic template of relationship between the two countries. He said both the leaders discussed different aspects of Indo-Japan relations. Mr Gokhale said Prime Minister Modi said that he was looking forward to the visit of Prime Minister Abe to India later this year for the Annual summit.