Preparations in full swing in Ahmedabad for Japanese PM’s visit

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Authorities in Ahmedabad have decorated the city in preparation of the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who arrives here on 13 September.

Photo: Hindustan Times

Officials here said that Modi and his Japanese counterpart will also take part in a road show in the city on the day the latter arrives here.

The eight-km-long road show would start from the Ahmedabad airport and culminate at the Sabarmati Ashram, according to the BJP, reported news agency Press Trust of India.

Abe will be arriving in India for a two-day visit.

Gujarat BJP unit president Jitubhai Vaghani told reporters today, “This is for the first time in the country when our prime minister along with the prime minister of another country is doing a joint road show. The Japanese PM is landing here directly on September 13. This makes the occasion more important, as he is visiting a state on the very first day of his India visit.”

He said that both the leaders will be accorded a “grand welcome” along the route of the road show.

Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s standing committee chairman Pravin Patel said a large number of people, including singing troupes who will be performing at 28 different locations along the route, will greet Modi and Abe.

“On the entire route of the the road show, which will also pass from Sabarmati Riverfront, we have erected 28 small stages where dancers from 28 different states, all dressed in their traditional attire, would showcase their performance when these leaders pass,” said Patel.

After visiting the Sabarmati Ashram, where Mahatma Gandhi lived between 1917 and 1930, both the leaders would take a break till evening, said Patel.

“In the evening, both the PMs would visit the iconic Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in the eastern part of the city. The mosque is known across the world for the stone lattice work,” he said.

Preparations were in full swing outside the mosque on Monday evening with security being beefed up.

Modi and Abe would then have dinner at ‘Agashiye’ restaurant located near the mosque, Patel added.

On September 14, Abe and Modi will attend the ground breaking ceremony for the ambitious Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project, commonly referred to as the Bullet Train project.

Later that day, both the premiers will hold the 12th India-Japan annual summit at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar.

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