The India-Japan partnership is on the up as it has been a key focus as well as a success in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign policy initiatives. To bolster this partnership, Modi is set to travel to Japan on the 28th and 29th of October 2018 for the annual Indo-Japan summit, his third visit in a span of four years.

India has the institutional mechanism of an annual bilateral summit with only two countries - Japan and Russia. And Modi has always accorded great importance on strengthening India's ties with Japan: the first country he visited after being elected as prime minister was Japan.

It is expected that Modi and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will announce some key partnerships.

"Several projects are expected to come up in the two leaders discussion including security problems and connectivity", said Japanese Ambassador to India, Kenji Hiramatsu.

The defence and security partnership is expected to include joint military exercises and a logistics sharing pact. And could include the sale of submarines and US-2 amphibious planes.

Infrastructure and connectivity remain the foundation of this resurgent Indo-Japan partnership. Japan will be a partner in the development of three highways in the North-East of India, as well as helping develop sensitive border roads like one on the India-Bangladesh border in Bangladesh and a new road to connect India and Bhutan.

Interestingly, PM Modi arrives in Japan, just a day after the Japanese PM returns from his China visit. And these conversations would really define the coming days for the Asian continent.

For India however, the challenge in this relationship is how to turn these agreements to reality soon. The much vaunted bullet train project between Gujarat and Maharashtra has hit a roadblock of land acquisition problems. The Japanese side still remain optimistic, putting the ball in the Indian court.

"It is upto to the Indian government to negotiate with the people and the state governments. We are hoping they will be successful." said Japanese Ambassador to India, Kenji Hiramatsu.

The signs point to Japan laying out the red carpet for Modi for the third time, in order to highlight India as a strategic partner. For India, Japan is a technology and trading partner and the alignment of the strategic interests is what will define this relationship in the coming decade.

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