Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who shares personal chemistry with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, said it “pained” him to hear about the poor health of Japan’s outgoing prime minister and credited him with consolidating relations between the two countries.
Prime Minister Modi tweeted to Prime Minister Abe hours after the Japanese Prime Minister announced his decision to resign from the top post due to his health condition. “It pains me to hear about your poor health, my dear friend @AbeShinzo,” Prime Minister Modi said in a tweet.
Hurt to hear about your poor health, my dear friend @AbeShinzo. In recent years, with your wise leadership and personal commitment, the India-Japan partnership has grown deeper and stronger than ever. I wish and pray for his speedy recovery. pic.twitter.com/JjziLay2gD
– Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 28, 2020
Prime Minister Modi also tweeted a 2018 photo of the two leaders at an informal meeting during the 13th India-Japan Summit that took place at a resort near Mount Fuji in Japan in October 2018.
The next summit-level meeting was scheduled to be held in December in Assam’s Guwahati, but was postponed due to protests against the anti-citizenship law. Prime Minister Abe and Prime Minister Modi were expected to hold the 14th India-Japan Summit by video conference on 10 September. But there is no clarity on whether the two countries, which were expected to seal a crucial military logistics pact, could meet this schedule in light of Prime Minister Abe’s health condition.
Prime Minister Modi credited Prime Minister Abe with playing a leading role in strengthening relations between the two countries. “In recent years, with your wise leadership and personal commitment, the India-Japan partnership has grown deeper and stronger than ever. I wish and pray for his speedy recovery, ”Prime Minister Modi said.
It is known that Prime Minister Modi was an admirer of the Japanese Prime Minister long before he moved from Gujarat to New Delhi in 2014. By all accounts, it was mutual.
Prime Minister Abe was one of the first world leaders to congratulate Narendra Modi on his gigantic victory in 2014 long before all the votes were counted. Modi was also just one of three people Prime Minister Abe followed on Twitter at the time. That number has still risen to 18. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh has been India’s other addition ever since. As prime minister, Modi had made Japan his first port of call outside of South Asia in September 2014, once he took office in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Abe’s announcement to resign comes just days after he broke a record for the longest consecutive term as prime minister set by his great-uncle Eisaku Sato half a century ago. He then emphasized that it was what a leader in the top position did that was important, not duration.
When Prime Minister Abe announced his decision to leave government at a press conference on Thursday, he stressed that he could not be the prime minister if he could not make the best decisions for the people.
“I cannot be prime minister if I cannot make the best decisions for the people. I have decided to step down, “Abe, 65, told a news conference.
Abe has battled ulcerative colitis disease for years and two recent visits to the hospital in a week had fueled doubts about whether he would be able to stay on the job until the end of his term as leader of the ruling party and therefore first. Minister, in September 2021.
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