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Ahmedabad, July 8 Former Japanese Prime Minister and the recipient of India's second-highest civilian honour Padma Vibhushan, Shinzo Abe will be remembered by many in Gujarat and India as a global leader who shared a close, personal relationship with the people of India.
It was during Abe's maiden visit to Ahmedabad (Gujarat), that Prime Minister Narendra Modi called his Japanese counterpart a "personal friend"; Abe reciprocated by embracing the Indian colours.
On September 13, 2017, soon after their arrival at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, Abe turned out in a kurta-pyjama and a 'Modi-jacket', while his wife Akei wore an Indian dress, before they embarked on a historic roadshow leading up to Mahatma Gandhi's ashram, Sabarmati Ashram.
The visiting couple received a majestic welcome with a 'Republic-Day style' exhibit of cultural heritage from the length and breadth of India.
Before getting on to business and talking about bilateral interests, Abe paid his tributes to the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, at the Sabarmati Ashram, where in the visitor's diary, he wrote a brief but lasting message: "Love".
Shinzo Abe’s message in the visitor’s book at Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad on September 13, 2017
During that visit , besides signing several business ties at the 12th India-Japan Annual Summit, Abe joined Modi in laying the foundation stone for the 'Bullet Train' project between Ahmedabad and Mumbai. Japan is supporting India in developing a High Speed Rail Network with soft loans.
Prime Minister Modi had stated that his Japanese counterpart had struck a chord with India, and it reflected "the depth of our understanding and comfort and confidence which we have with each other."
On the other hand, unveiling a new era for the Japan-India relationship, Abe had said, "we will strongly promote the Japan-India special strategic and global partnership, to drive peace and prosperity for the Indo-Pacific region and the whole world."
Shinzo Abe paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Sabarmati Ashram, Ahmedabad on September 13, 2017.
Abe's words will resonate with every Indian as he coined a unique term for Japan and India - JAI. "If you take the first two letters from Japan, JA, and the first from India, I; we get JAI. So, it is Jai India, Jai Japan," Abe had said after the ground-breaking of the Bullet Train project.
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