In a shocking turn of events, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated this morning while he was conducting a campaign event in Nara, Japan. This development ash shocked the entire world including India. While India has announced a one-day state morning in lieu of this horrific development, here’s a trip down the memory lane when Abe paid a three-day visit to Gujarat in 2017.
In the middle of September 2017, Gujarat served as a host to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. He was the second East Asian politician that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had brought to Gujarat.
The 12th India-Japan annual discussion had just begun when Abe and his wife Akie Abe arrived in Ahmedabad. Modi and Abe’s meeting marked their fourth annual summit since Modi took office in 2014.
The Abes visited Mahatma Gandhi’s Sabarmati Ashram shortly after their arrival, which is where Gandhi lived. They were accompanied on the excursion by the PM.
In Gujarat’s commercial centre in September 2014, Modi hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping, another significant East Asian leader. In addition, Xi was accompanied by Peng Liyuan, his wife.
Soon after his arrival, Modi gave Xi a tour of Sabarmati Ashram, and for the occasion, Xi dressed in Indian attire by donning an off-white khadi jacket that the Indian Prime Minister had given to him. The tour included a stop at Gandhi’s residence, where Xi got a chance to try his hand at the charkha, or spinning wheel—a representation of independence that Gandhi used to transform cotton thread into cloth.
In December 2015, it was reported that Japan would give India’s first bullet train $12 billion in soft loans to develop together with another $12 billion as a package of incentives for Japanese businesses operating in India.
Also read: Japan’s Ex PM & India’s Friend Shinzo Abe No More
