Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday met Akie Abe, wife of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and recalled her late husband’s contribution to strengthening India-Japan relations.
The venue, located in Modi’s parliamentary constituency, was built with Japanese assistance and inaugurated by the Prime Minister in 2021. Recalling Shinzo Abe’s 2015 visit to Varanasi with Modi, she spoke about his experience of witnessing the Ganga Aarti and said she had long wished to visit the city herself. He also described the newly inaugurated Shinzo Abe Memorial Corridor in Varanasi as a fitting tribute to the former Japanese leader’s contribution to the friendship between the two countries. “Pleased to meet Mrs Akie Abe, wife of late former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Deeply value her enduring association with India,” Modi wrote on X. “Abe San was a dear friend and a visionary leader who played a defining role in elevating India-Japan relations to new heights. Akie Abe also shared her reflections on the meeting with Modi, saying the warmth she felt during their interaction brought back strong emotions. “To strengthen the bonds between Japan and India even further, I want to do whatever I can. My husband must surely have been there with us… The meeting came a day after Akie Abe and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath jointly inaugurated the Shinzo Abe Memorial Corridor at the Rudraksh International Convention Centre in Varanasi. He credited Shinzo Abe with playing an important role in deepening bilateral relations and highlighted Japan’s contribution to India’s infrastructure, technology, transportation and economic development.
Modi said Shinzo Abe was a close friend and a visionary leader who played a significant role in taking the bilateral relationship between India and Japan to a new level. In a post on X, she said she wanted to contribute in whatever way she could to further strengthen the ties between Japan and India. “Meeting with Prime Minister Modi, the warmth I felt today once again made my tears flow uncontrollably,” she wrote. Yogi Adityanath said the memorial corridor represented the strategic, diplomatic and cultural ties between India and Japan.
The inauguration of the Abe Memorial Corridor at the Rudraksh Convention Centre in Varanasi yesterday is a fitting tribute to his lasting contribution to India-Japan friendship. At the event on Wednesday, Akie Abe expressed gratitude for the memorial and said she was deeply moved by the tribute to her late husband.
