Japan: PM addresses Indian diaspora; restates \'Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas\'

Kobe: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Thursday, addressed the Indian diaspora in Japan during his official visit to attend the G-20 summit.

Addressing the gathering, PM Modi said, “I am fortunate to be here once again after 7 months. It is a coincidence that last time I was here, election results were out here and you had shown trust in my dear friend Shinzo Abe. Today when I am here, the largest democracy has shown even greater trust in this Pradhan Sevak.”

Incidentally, PM Shinzo Abe was re-elected as president of the ruling Liberal Democratic party [LDP] in September, 2018. PM Modi had visited the far-east nation in October, 2018.

Thanking the people for the massive mandate, PM Modi said. “130 Crore Indians formed an even stronger govt. This is big. After three decades, for the first time, a govt with clear majority formed govt for the second time in a row.”

Reiterating his commitment on development for all, PM Modi said, “Sabka saath sabka vikas aur usmein logon ne amrit milaya sabka vishwas (Development for all, confidence of all). We are going ahead with this mantra. India will be made stronger.”

PM Modi spoke on the warm relationship being shared by the two nations. He remarked, “When it comes to India's relations with the world, Japan holds an important position. These relations are not from today but dates back to centuries. It has harmony and respect for each other's culture in its foundation.”

Prime Minister talked about India’s relationship with Japan post World War - II. “Swami Vivekananda, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Neta ji Subhash Chandra Bose, Justice Radhabinod Pal, many Indians strengthened India's relationship with Japan. And that's why after World War-2, India and Japan's relationship grew all the more strong,” PM Modi remarked.

Japan was the only nation which was vocal in supporting India at the time of India-China standoff in Doklam.

Talking about his relationship with PM Shinzo Abe, PM Modi said, “After I became PM in 2014 I got an opportunity to strengthen India-Japan friendship, together with my friend PM Shinzo Abe. We took our diplomatic relations beyond the purview of capitals and ambassadors and took them directly among public.”

He further said, “Besides Delhi and Ahmedabad, I had the opportunity to take PM Abe to Varanasi. He visited my parliamentary constituency & participated in the Ganga aarti there. Whenever he got the opportunity, he spoke of this divine experience.”

PM Modi spoke for close to 30 minutes and after he ended his speech, slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Vande Mataram’ were raised at the event.

PM Modi will attend the two-day G-20 summit beginning tomorrow. He is expected to meet the global leaders for the first time in his second term.