Shinzo Abe congratulates Modi on election victory

Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo Thursday congratulated his counterpart Narendra Modi for his resounding electoral victory in the general elections and vowed towards further strengthening the India-Japan special strategic ties.

Prime Minister Modi led his Bharatiya Janata Party towards what is certain to be a resounding victory for a second term in office as it led in 302 seats, according to trends released by the Election Commission for all 542 seats that went to polls.

"Prime Minister of Japan, Abe Shinzo called Prime Minister Narendra Modi and congratulated him for the resounding victory of his party in the 2019 General Elections," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Modi thanked Shinzo for his wishes, it said.

During the conversation, both leaders noted the advances made in the bilateral relationship in the last five years and reiterated their commitment towards further strengthening the India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership to achieve their shared vision of peace, progress and prosperity, the statement added.

"Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed that Prime Minister Modi has achieved high recognition for his achievements under his strong leadership," according to a statement issued by the Japanese embassy in New Delhi.

"Shinzo stated that he would like to closely work with Modi hand in hand toward strengthening Japan-India relations and realising a free and open Indo-Pacific," the statement said.

Prime Minister Modi expressed sincere gratitude for Shinzo's words of congratulations, it said.

Modi stated that the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership has led to India's development, and expressed pleasure that the bilateral relationship has been strengthened over the past five years, it said.

Modi also extended congratulations on the enthronement of His Majesty, the Emperor and the opening of the Reiwa (beautiful harmony) era, the statement said.

Both the leaders look forward to their meeting during the G20 Summit in Osaka next month, it said.

Modi also extended an invitation to Shinzo to visit India later this year for the next India-Japan Annual Summit.