How Shinzo Abe played a crucial role in strengthening India-Japan ties

Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and PM Narendra Modi in a file photo from 2015.

Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe died in hospital on Friday, hours after being shot at a political campaign event. Prime Minister Narendra Modi mourned the death of one of his “dearest friends” in a series of tweets, highlighting Abe’s immeasurable contribution to strengthening India-Japan ties.

As a mark of respect for Abe, India has declared a day of mourning on July 9, PM Narendra Modi announced.

Ties between India and Japan date back centuries, but a formal diplomatic relationship was established with the signing of a peace treaty in 1952. India-Japan ties were upgraded to a ‘global and strategic partnership’ by Shinzo Abe and Manmohan Singh in 2006 – the year that Abe first became prime minister.

In 2007, Abe became the first ever Japanese PM to address a joint session of Indian Parliament, when he made the famous “Confluence of the Two Seas” speech.

In 2014, Shinzo Abe became the first Japanese PM to attend India’s Republic Day parade as a chief guest at Manmohan Singh’s invitation.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi continued to build on this foundation of friendship after taking office in 2014. In September 2014, PM Modi visited Abe in Japan, during which they agreed to upgrade the bilateral relationship to “Special Strategic and Global Partnership.”

The following year, in December 2015, Shinzo Abe visited India for an official meeting with Modi. They announced “Japan and India Vision 2025 Special Strategic and Global Partnership Working Together for Peace and Prosperity of the Indo-Pacific Region and the World” to further strengthen ties between the two countries.

In 2016, Modi again paid an official visit to Abe in Japan. However, his ties with the former Japanese PM date back to when he was chief minister of Gujarat.

“My association with Mr. Abe goes back many years. I had got to know him during my tenure as Gujarat CM and our friendship continued after I became PM. His sharp insights on economy and global affairs always made a deep impression on me,” the prime minister of India wrote on Twitter today as he condoled the death of Abe.

Modi also praised Abe as a “towering global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a remarkable administrator.”