Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that Japan can help India become a USD 5 trillion economy.
Addressing the Indian diaspora here, he said that Japan holds an important position in New Delhi's foreign relations and the ties between the two countries date back to centuries.
"When it comes to India's relations with the world, Japan holds an important position. These relations are not from today but dates back to centuries. It has harmony and respect for each other's culture in its foundation....Japan can help India become a USD 5 trillion economy," Modi said.
He said that the relations between the two countries strengthened after World War 2, the foundation of which was laid by Swami Vivekananda, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Neta ji Subhash Chandra Bose, Justice Radhabinod Pal, among others.
" Swami Vivekananda, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Neta ji Subhash Chandra Bose, Justice Radhabinod Pal, many Indians strengthened India's relationship with Japan. And that's why after World War-2, India and Japan's relationship grew all the more strong," said
The Indian Prime Minister opined that the relations between New Delhi and Tokyo have further strengthened in the past five years owing to the joint efforts by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and himself.
"After I became PM in 2014 I got an opportunity to strengthen India-Japan friendship, together with my friend PM Shinzo Abe. We took our diplomatic relations beyond the purview of capitals & ambassadors & took them directly among the public," he said.
Modi also spoke on how India is moving ahead with time in terms of technology.
"We managed CycloneF with minimum damage and world praised that govt machinery, human resource and space technology can be used to perform well. Also, we'll launch Chandrayaan-2 in few months and by 2022 we're planning to launch India's maiden human spaceflight program-Gaganyaan."
The Indian Prime Minister is on a two-day visit to Japan to attend the 14th edition of G20 summit. He will hold numerous bilaterals and pull-asides with world leaders participating in the summit.
( With inputs from ANI )