- Monday, May 20, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIAN prime minister Narendra Modi on Friday (8) lost a dear friend in former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe who was assassinated by a gunshot by an individual while delivering a speech at a campaign rally in the southern Japanese city of Nara.
Modi, who expressed his shock over Abe’s death, announced a day of mourning in India on Saturday (9). He also shared a picture of his most recent meeting with Abe and said the latter was always passionate about ties between India and Japan.
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To highlight the closeness that Modi and Abe had when the latter was the prime minister of Japan, the Japanese leader was present in India in September 2017 to lay the foundation stone for the bullet train project worth $17 billion (£14 billion). The 508-kilometre bullet train project between the Indian cities of Ahmedabad in Gujarat and Mumbai in Maharashtra remains one of Modi’s top-favoured projects. He also joined Modi for a road show in an open jeep.
Abe called Modi a far-sighted leader and said Japan was committed to the Indian prime minister’s ‘Make in India’ scheme which looks to make the country self-sufficient. He said, “My friend Modi is building a new India”. He also hailed the bullet train project saying it symbolises friendship between the two Asian countries and said it was a historic day in their ties. He also gave the slogan “Jai India, Jai Japan” at the event.
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Modi and Abe also laid the foundation stone for the Vadodara High Speed rail-training institute. Tokyo is also funding 80 per cent of the high-speed rail project in India and the first bullet train is likely to run on Indian soil in 2026.
During that two-day visit to India, Abe also assisted Modi for an eight-kilometre-long roadshow in the open-roof vehicle in Ahmedabad. He wore a blue Nehru jacket on the occasion while his wife wore a red salwar-kameez, dresses that are commonly worn in India. The Japanese guests went to the Sabarmati Ashram where Mahatma Gandhi spent a considerable time of his life.
The Indian opposition had mocked Abe’s visit as an election gimmick ahead of the polling in Gujarat in December the same year.
