Sushma has 'warm encounter' with Shinzo Abe

New York, Sep 21 (IANS)  External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had a "warm encounter" with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe here on Thursday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Session,  Exactly a week after the ground-breaking ceremony of the Japan-aided Ahmedabad-Mumbai high speed rail project in India.

"A warm encounter to begin another hectic day! EAM @SushmaSwaraj with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, a dear friend of India," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar tweeted along with a picture of the two leaders smiling and shaking hands.

Sushma Swaraj was not present when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Abe jointly launched the ambitious Rs 1 lakh crore bullet train project in Ahmedabad on September 14.

Modi hailed the project that will help passengers cover 500 km in three hours at a speed of over 300 km per hour as a "new pace" in India's progress to achieve a "new India" by 2022.

The project adds to the growing list of major India-Japan infrastructure cooperation projects.

During the course of Abe's two-day visit, India and Japan elevated their bilateral ties to new levels and called for a free and open Indo-Pacific region where sovereignty and international laws are respected.

Japan invested $4.7 billion in India in 2016-17, becoming the third largest investor in India.