Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe launched India’s first bullet train project yesterday as they agreed to deepen economic and defence ties amid a growing alignment of interests to counter China’s increasing influence..
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe launched India’s first bullet train project yesterday as they agreed to deepen economic and defence ties amid a growing alignment of interests to counter China’s increasing influence.
The two leaders held talks and attended the ground-breaking ceremony for the 1.08 trillion rupee (S$22.8 billion) project to connect Ahmedabad, in Mr Modi’s home state of Gujarat, to Mumbai.
The new link will be a boost for India’s ageing railway network, which is prone to accidents.
Travel time will be slashed from the current seven to eight hours to under three hours when the 508km line is completed in six years. The Indian government hopes it will be ready earlier, in 2022.
“Today, Japan has shown what a true friend it is of India’s. India’s first high-speed rail project is an example of the strength of ties between the two countries, ” said Mr Modi, who called it a historic day for bilateral ties.
Similarly, Mr Abe noted: “A strong India is good for Japan and a strong Japan is good for India.”
Ties between India and Japan, which have been growing in the past decade, have come into sharper focus since Mr Modi came to power in 2014.
The two countries have been brought closer by the mutual unease over a rising China.
India has a festering border row with China, while Japan has its own maritime territorial dispute with China.
