Shinzo Abe Dies: ‘Dosti Atoot Rahe Hamari’, performed Ganga Aarti with PM Modi at Varanasi- See RARE pics

Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shot dead on Friday. A man opened fire on him while giving a speech at a rally in Nara town. Shinzo Abe has a strong relationship with India. He has visited India five times so far. He first came to India in 2006 when he was the Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan. After becoming Prime Minister for the first time in 2006, he visited India in 2007. During 2012 to 2020, he visited India three more times while being the Prime Minister for the second time. He is the first Japanese Prime Minister who has made so many visits to India. Shinzo Abe was the first Japanese prime minister to attend the Indian Republic Day parade as the chief guest. In 2018, he invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his holiday home. PM Modi was the first foreign leader to visit Shinzo Abe’s private bungalow. From this it can be understood that the friendship of both was not only as the Prime Ministers of the two countries, but also personally.

Check out selected photos from Shinzo Abe’s visits to India
In 2007, Shinzo came to India for the first time as Prime Minister. He gave a speech in Parliament named ‘Confluence of two seas’. This concept is now the cornerstone of Indo-Pacific relations and the strong ties between India and Japan. In the picture, Shinzo is accompanied by then Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, PM Manmohan Singh and Vice President Hamid Ansari.