India, Japan ink four pacts on bullet train, defense and civil nuclear energy

India and Japan on Saturday inked four pacts on bullet train, civil nuclear energy, military equipment and defense technology.

The agreements were signed after a bilateral summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the national capital.

Under one of the pacts, Japan will offer 12 billion U.S. dollars of soft funding for building India's first bullet train between the cities of Mumbai and Ahmedabad in western state of Gujarat.

"Bullet trains will revolutionize Indian railways and will be engine of economic transformation in India," Modi said.

"We greatly appreciate the package of 12 billion U.S. dollars and technical assistance on easy terms for the bullet train project."

Under the two security deals, India and Japan will share defense technology, military equipment and information, while under the civil nuclear deal, both countries decided to work on cooperation.

"The memorandum on civil nuclear energy cooperation... is a shining symbol of a new level of mutual confidence and strategic partnership in cause of peaceful and secure world," Modi said.

However, there was no decision on the long-awaited sale of Japanese aircraft in a deal worth about 1.1 billion U.S. dollars for which both the countries have been holding talks for two years.

"No friend will matter more in realizing India's economic dreams than Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe," Modi said. Endit