Modi, Abe visit robotic, automation facility in Japan

Tokyo : Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe on Sunday visited a Japanese robotic and automation capabilities facility near here.

Modi, who arrived here on Saturday for his annual bilateral summit with Abe, was received by the latter at the Yamanashi prefecture, close to the iconic Mount Fuji, earlier in the day.

Both Prime Ministers visited the FANUC industrial facility, which specializes in automation.

The Indian Prime Minister was briefed on the various robotic and automation capabilities of FANUC. Both PMs observed several illustrations of the working of industrial robots.

At the motor assembly facility, they witnessed the assembling of a motor by a robot in 40 seconds.

FANUC contributes to the manufacturing industry in Japan and other countries, including India, by promoting automation and efficiency in manufacturing.

Later, in a special gesture, Abe hosted Modi for a private dinner at his villa in Yamanashi.

Both the leaders spent around eight hours together during the course of the day.

This is Modi's third visit to Japan for the summit and his 12th meeting with Abe since 2014.

Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and in the defence and security sectors as well as leveraging Japanese capabilities for India's development initiatives will be the highlights of the agenda in the annual bilateral summit here on Monday.

India is the only country with which Japan holds annual bilateral summit while India has a similar arrangement with Russia too.