Exactly a week after the ground - breaking ceremony of the Japan - aided Ahmedabad - Mumbai high speed rail project in India, 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.
"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.