Watch | Yogi Adityanath speaks in Japanese at MoU signing with Yamanashi Prefecture

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath caught everyone by surprise when he opened his address in Japanese before signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture.

Kotaro Nagasaki, the governor of Yamanashi, was present at the event in Lucknow.

An MoU was signed between the Uttar Pradesh government and Yamanashi Prefecture (Japan) for industrial cooperation, tourism and vocational education in the presence.

"The roots of strategic, cultural and global cooperation have been connected between the two countries for more than a millennium. Today, when many countries of the world are at war, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is binding the world in the thread of peace, harmony and unity through the message of Lord Buddha," Adityanath said.

"The strong relations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Prime Minister of Japan, late Shinzo Abe, have also taken the political, economic and business relations of India-Japan to new heights," he said.

"The state government is keen to cooperate with Japanese companies. Japan also provided great support as a partner country for the Global Investors Summit-2023," Adityanath said.

On behalf of the state government, Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh and Director General of the Governor's Policy Planning Bureau of Yamanashi Province Junichi Ishidera exchanged the MoU, the UP government said in a statement.

Adityanath said the MoU is a result of the prime minister's commitment to work together with the Quad countries for humanity on the basis of shared democratic values.

On this occasion, Governor Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan, Kotaro Nagasaki said there have been spiritual and historical relations between Yamanashi Prefecture and Uttar Pradesh.

Expressing happiness over the MoU, he said that Japan will provide mutual cooperation in labour skilled development, renewable energy, hydro power, exchange of knowledge and technology.

He told the chief minister that "Japan is your second home", the statement said, adding Adityanath also spoke a few lines in Japanese.

Later, in a post on X, Adityanath said, "Had a productive meeting and fruitful discussion with Mr. Kotaro Nagasaki, Hon. Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, and his delegation at my official residence in Lucknow today."

"An MoU was signed between Uttar Pradesh and Yamanashi to promote collaboration in industrial cooperation, tourism, and the vocational education sector. Looking forward to exploring new opportunities for economic and cultural exchange together," he said.

With PTI inputs