Abe accorded ceremonial welcome

Ahead of addressing the joint session of Parliament, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was on Wednesday accorded a ceremonial welcome on the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. President Pratibha Patil and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh were among those who formally welcomed Abe, who is on a three-day visit to India. He later left for Rajghat to lay a wreath and pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi at his memorial.