Yogi, Akie Abe inaugurate Abe Memorial Corridor at Rudraksh Vonvention Centre in Varanasi
Recalling Abe’s visit to Varanasi in 2015, following the signing of the Kashi-Kyoto Partner City Agreement in Kyoto in 2014, to witness the Ganga aarti, Yogi said, “Oct 7 is a special day to take this friendship to new dimensions, as exactly 25 years ago PM Modiji took oath for the first time as Gujarat CM. In 2007, Modiji met Abe for the first time during his visit to Japan. In Aug 2024, Governor Kotaro Nagasaki of Yamanashi visited Uttar Pradesh with more than 200 investors, CM Yogi said. We are also developing a Japanese City over 500 acres at Noida International Airport and in the YEIDA region. Japan has precision, UP has scale — a market of 25 crore people, the country’s youngest workforce and the largest network of expressways and airports,” he said.
“In Feb, I visited Japan and agreements were signed with Japanese companies in Tokyo and Yamanashi for investments worth thousands of crores.
Varanasi: Recalling the enduring friendship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe , chief minister Yogi Adityanath said Kashi and Kyoto represented the soul of their respective civilisations and had demonstrated that development could go hand in hand with the preservation of heritage. Yogi said the Rudraksh Convention Centre was a symbol of friendship between India and Japan. Every young person who comes here will be able to learn how a far-sighted leader can give a new direction to the future of two countries,” he said. “This corridor is not merely a place for preserving the memories of two PMs, but also a living symbol of the unbreakable friendship, trust and shared heritage between India and Japan,” Yogi said, describing the corridor as a humble tribute to Abe San on behalf of the 25 crore people of Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 140 crore Indians. Referring to lines from Goswami Tulsidas — “Nij dukh giri sam raj kari jana, mitrak dukh raj Meru samana” (one should consider one’s own mountain-like sorrow as dust and a friend’s dust-like sorrow as a mountain) — he said, “In today’s world, when relationships are decided by deals, finding a friend who stands by you without calculating gain or loss is very difficult. When the friendship of two leaders becomes the trust of two nations, history changes,” Yogi said, highlighting the outcomes of the Modi-Abe friendship.
The foundation of friendship between PM Modi and Abe was also laid during that period. Their friendship was not built on position but on trust. Adding the Abe Memorial Corridor is like creating a living classroom for the new generation. India is fortunate to have found such a true friend in Japan. The world builds relationships by looking at interests, while the relations between India and Japan are based on trust. “Japan has technology and experience, while India has talent and young energy. I also saw Japan’s precision engineering from close quarters. Yamanashi is now a partner of UP in green hydrogen energy. A Yamanashi Desk has been established at Invest UP.
“Japan gifted Rudraksh to Kashi and today Kashi is preserving it forever in the memory of the former Japan PM.