Jaishankar hands over personal letter from PM Modi to Japan’s late PM Shinzo Abe’s wife

Tokyo: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday met Japan’s late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s wife Akie Abe, and handed her a personal letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi conveying his condolences on the passing of the late PM’s mother Yoko Abe. Shinzo Abe, 67, was assassinated on July 8, 2022, at an election campaign speech in Nara.

Jaishankar began the second leg of his two-nation visit in Japan after concluding his visit to South Korea. He met Akie Abe and recalled the late Japanese premier’s invaluable contribution to the advancement of India-Japan relations, the external affairs minister said in a post on social media platform X.

“On my visit to Tokyo this time, met with Mrs Akie Abe, wife of late PM Shinzo Abe. Recalled PM Shinzo Abe’s invaluable contribution to the advancement of India-Japan relations. Handed over a personal letter from PM @narendramodi conveying his condolences on the recent passing away of Mrs Yoko Abe, mother of the late PM,” said Jaishankar.

Abe was Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, having held office from 2006 to 2007, and then again from 2012 to 2020. PM Modi in an emotional note after Abe’s death in 2022 hailed him as an outstanding leader of Japan. Abe has given top priority to strengthening Japan’s strategic ties with India and the late PM took landmark initiatives like signing the bilateral civil nuclear deal, a key trade agreement, and convinced India to join the four-country Quad grouping.

India sees Japan as ‘natural partner’ in development

Speaking at the Nikkei Forum on the India-Japan Special Strategic Partnership, the EAM said that solutions for India and Japan nationally, as well as regionally and globally, draw strength from larger activities together from Quad. He further stressed that India-Japan relationships need to be continuously tended at various levels.

Jaishankar also emphasised that both nations are working well together in world politics, including, of late, in multilateral organisations. When asked about whether China is part of the Global South or not, as it was not part of the Global South Summit, Jaishankar said, “At the two summits (Global South Summit), which we conveyed, I don’t believe China was present.”

While holding talks with his Japanese counterpart Kamikawa Yoko, the minister said India sees Japan as a “natural partner” in its journey, development and transformation, and in its quest for peace, prosperity and stability in the strategic Indo-Pacific region. 

He said their talks provided strategic guidance to their teams to realise the vision of the India-Japan Special Strategic Global Partnership and the expectations that the top leaders of the two countries have of this partnership. He asserted that the two sides have made good progress in their defence and security relations.

“We agreed on the need for new steps, many of which my colleague, the Minister spoke, to make this relationship prepared for, and responsive to, the emerging geopolitical, geo-economic and geo-technological trends, and as well to the growing demands of the people of the two countries to get to know each other better,” he said in a joint press statement with Yoko.

“Whether it is the developmental aspirations of the Global South, or the reform of the institutions and mechanisms of global governance, or fighting transnational crimes, or defending against disruptions to supply chains, cooperation between India and Japan has a world of possibilities,” he added.

Jaishankar welcomed Japan’s development role in India’s Northeast, saying it will be crucial in transforming the connectivity and industrial landscape of that region. “It will benefit not only two countries but also other countries in the neighbourhood through a network of forward and backward linkages. We further agreed to explore coordinated development partnership initiatives by our agencies in third countries,” he further said.

(with inputs from agencies)

ALSO READ | China hasn’t observed longstanding written agreements that caused 2020 bloodshed: Jaishankar in Japan