PM Modi to attend former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe’s funeral on Sept 27
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Japan on September 27 to attend the state funeral of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
Modi will separately meet Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida during the visit, the external affairs ministry announced on Thursday.
The visit is expected to last less than a day. Modi will also be among the world leaders who are expected to separately call on Abe’s widow, people familiar with the matter said.
“[Japan] is a friendly country and an important partner. It is nice that the prime minister has found time to be able to go despite his busy schedule and be present at the state funeral,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.
“As you know, there was a personal connect with former prime minister Shinzo Abe,” he said.
Abe, Japan’s longest serving prime minister, was assassinated during an election campaign meeting on July 8.
He played a pioneering role in the establishment of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue or Quad, which groups Australia, India, Japan and the US, and in pushing a vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
India had declared a day of state mourning to pay tribute to Abe, who also played a major role in elevating India-Japan relations and enhancing cooperation in many fields.
In a message issued shortly after the Japanese leader’s death, Modi had described Abe as “a towering global statesman, an outstanding leader, and a remarkable administrator”.
