Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday embarked on a five-day visit to Japan and Thailand, saying that the tour is aimed at giving a new dimension to India’s "Look East" policy.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday embarked on a five-day visit to Japan and Thailand, saying that the tour is aimed at giving a new dimension to India's "Look East" policy.

"My visits to Japan and Thailand will add depth and new meaning to our 'Look East' policy and contribute to peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region," said Singh who will be in Japan for the first three days before going to Thailand Thursday.

Saying that his Japan visit would invigorate New Delhi's relations with Tokyo in the political, security and energy spheres, the Indian prime minister noted, "We will explore ways to harness the full potential of our Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Partnership by intensifying and balancing our two-way trade and investment linkages."

Singh called Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe his "good friend" and said that he "will build on the momentum imparted by successive summits to the India-Japan Strategic and Global Partnership."

"The visit will also allow the two governments to take stock of the progress in flagship projects in our partnership, like the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor and the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor, and to facilitate bilateral engagement for meaningful and mutually beneficial association," he said in his departure statement.

Talking about his scheduled meeting with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra in Bangkok during the last leg of his visit, Singh said, "Thailand is an important bilateral partner as well as a regional leader situated at the heart of ASEAN."

"Thailand and India share centuries-old people-to-people, cultural and spiritual ties. Being maritime neighbors."