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Amid “great expectations”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday embarked on a visit to Japan which is expected to open new vistas in the bilateral ties and take the Strategic and Global Partnership to a higher level.

Modi has a substantive agenda during the five-day trip which he hopes will "write a new chapter".

On his first bilateral visit outside the subcontinent as the Prime Minister, Modi has a substantive agenda during the five-day trip which he hopes will “write a new chapter” in the bilateral relations and cooperation in the fields of defence, civil nuclear and infrastructure besides commerce.

Underlining the importance of the visit, the “excited” Modi said on the eve of the trip that Japan has “paramount importance” in his vision for India’s development and progress.

In the first leg of his visit, the PM will travel to Kyoto, the ‘smart city’ of Japan, to see the experiment there considering that he intends to build 100 smart cities in India. In a special gesture, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will fly to Kyoto to receive Modi there.

The two leaders will have substantive summit meeting in Tokyo on September 1 during which the two sides will look at ways to take the Strategic and Global Partnership forward.

India has “great expectations” from the visit, the External Affairs Ministry has said.

Cooperation in the fields of defence, civil nuclear, infrastructure development and rare earth materials is expected to top the agenda of the discussions.

Some agreements, including in defence and civil nuclear sectors, are expected to be signed. Among the agreements to be signed is one on joint production of rare earth materials.

“I am keenly looking forward to my visit to Japan at the invitation of my good friend, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, for the annual summit between India and Japan,” Modi said in his pre-departure statement.

Noting that this will be his first bilateral visit outside the immediate neighbourhood as Prime Minister, he said it underlines “the high priority” that Japan receives in India’s foreign and economic policies.

“It is also a reflection of Japan’s paramount importance in my vision for development and prosperity in India and in peace, stability and prosperity in Asia at large,” Modi said.

“I am confident that my visit will write a new chapter in the annals of the relations between Asia’s two oldest democracies and take our Strategic and Global Partnership to the next higher level,” he said.