PM Modi reaches Japan, presents 'special gift' to Japanese Premier Shinzo Abe

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Japan on Sunday to attend the two-day India-Japan annual summit with his counterpart Shinzo Abe, and presented a special gift to the Japanese premier. Abe received Modi at hotel Mount Fuji in Yamanashi. The special present includes two handcrafted stone bowls and dhurries made from rose quartz and yellow quartz stone sourced from Rajasthan.  A Jodhpuri wooden chest from Rajasthan with traditional work was also presented, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying. The gifts were specially crafted on the occasion of Modi's visit to Japan. "The uniqueness of this craft lies in the fact that the form of the product is scooped out from a block of stone, and then shaped and refined using basic hand tools generally without any lathe machines," the official said. Hand-woven by the master weavers of Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, the dhurrie designs show the diversity of possibilities available - from a symmetrical repeating geometric tessellation in one, to stylistic floral motifs arranged around the classical medallion pattern in another. The stone bowls and dhurries were made under the design supervision of the prestigious Ahmedabad-based National Institute of Design

PM Narendra Modi presented Japanese PM Shinzo Abe two handcrafted stone bowls made from rose quartz and yellow quartz stone and hand-woven Dhurries by the weavers of Mirzapur, UP, specially crafted on the occasion of his visit to Japan for India-Japan annual summit: Sources pic.twitter.com/M9ZDaeQWIC

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2018

Abe on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was one of his most "dependable" friends and together with the Indian leader, he would like to strengthen bilateral cooperation to realise a free and open Indo-Pacific. "Prime Minister Modi, who is currently visiting Japan since yesterday, is one of my most dependable and valuable friends. On behalf of the entire Japanese government, I have the pleasure of extending him the warmest hospitality," the Japanese leader said in a message carried by newspapers here.

#WATCH: Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe receives PM Narendra Modi at hotel Mount Fuji in Yamanashi pic.twitter.com/FoablhOqlc

— ANI (@ANI) October 28, 2018

In a statement Friday, before leaving for Japan, Modi described India and Japan as a "winning combination" and said the island nation is New Delhi's most trusted partner in its economic and technological modernisation. Modi said it will be his 12th meeting with Abe since he first visited Japan as prime minister in September 2014. He said, as democracies, the two countries have shared values and they seek peace and prosperity for all.