PM Modi Meets Japan's Fumio Kishida Ahead Of Shinzo Abe's State Funeral
PM Narendra Modi and Japan's Fumio Kishida reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen India-Japan ties -- a cornerstone of former premier Shinzo Abe's foreign policy.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi met his Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida in Tokyo ahead on former premier Shinzo Abe's funeral.
The leaders reaffirmed commitment to further strengthen India-Japan ties, which was a cornerstone of Abe's foreign policy.
"The two leaders had a productive exchange of views on further deepening bilateral relations. They also discussed a number of regional and global issues," India's Ministry of External Affairs said in a brief statement.
During the bilateral meeting, Modi conveyed his deepest condolences on Abe's death and noted his contributions in strengthening India-Japan ties as well in conceptualising the vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. "I am feeling very sad about the sudden death of former premier Abe... He took Japan-India relations to a greater level and also expanded it in many areas," Modi said.
"India is missing Shinzo Abe," he said. "I am confident that under your leadership, India-Japan relations will deepen further and achieve greater heights," Modi told Kishida.
PM Kishida appreciated Modi's visit to Japan to attend Abe's state funeral. He expressed his intention to continue working with Modi to realise a "Free and Open Indo-Pacific", building on the diplomatic legacy of Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
Kishida stated that the period from this year -- which marks the 70th year of India-Japan diplomatic relations -- to next, when Japan and India assume the G7 and G20 presidencies, offers an excellent opportunity to strengthen the 'Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership.' The two leaders confirmed to promote bilateral cooperation in various fields, the statement said.
The two leaders exchanged views regarding the regional situation, as well as the Russia-Ukraine war. They reaffirmed their shared recognition of the importance of peaceful settlement of disputes as well as transparent and comparable development finance.
Kishida visited India for the annual summit in March while Modi visited Japan for the Quad Leaders' Summit in May.
Representatives from over 100 countries, including more than 20 heads of state and governments, attended Abe's funeral on Tuesday. Abe was shot dead while making a campaign speech on July 8 in the southern Japanese city of Nara.