Devendra Fadnavis postpones Japan tour, to accompany PM on China visit

MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has decided to cancel his tour to Japan, scheduled next week, to accompany Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his visit to China.

Fadnavis's five-day tour to Japan from May 13-17 was planned two months in advance, during which he was scheduled to unveil a statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Kohyasa and market Maharashtra as a preferred destination for Japanese investments.

"Visiting Japan was the state government's decision and visiting China, is Prime Minister Modi's decision. So, the PM's decision cannot be overruled. It is also a matter of pride for us that Modi ji has considered Maharashtra as one of the three states to accompany his delegation to China," an official from the Chief Minister's office told PTI.

Modi will visit China from May 14 to 16 and will be accompanied by Chief ministers of three states - Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

"Even though the CM wanted to go for the Japan tour, he will now visit China with the Prime Minister. The Japan tour can be postponed," the official said.

Fadnavis was scheduled to unveil the statue of Ambedkar on May 14 and prior to that he was to hold meetings with Japanese businessmen at Osaka. A seminar on promoting investment in Maharashtra, organised jointly by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) was also scheduled during the trip.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, her Karnataka counterpart Siddaramaiah and Fadnavis will travel with their entourage of business magnets and meet Chinese government and entrepreneurs to seek investments for their states.

Prime Minister's China visit will focus on attracting business and investments into India.