Former Japanese PM Shinzo Abe was 'great leader and loyal friend to Egypt': Sisi

Ahram Online , Friday 8 Jul 2022

President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi expressed on Friday his condolences to the Japanese people for the loss of ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, describing the former premier as a "great leader" and "a loyal friend to Egypt."

Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe
Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe



"I received with great sorrow the news of the death of the former Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, after a treacherous act of assasination," El-Sisi posted on his Facebook account.

“Shinzo Abe was a loyal friend to Egypt, supporting it in all times and circumstances.  Bilateral relations  during his tenure witnessed unprecedented progress on all levels."

“I assure to you that Egypt will not forget Shinzo Abe’s sincere efforts to boost our cooperation and we will work to immortalise his name as it should,” the president said.

Japan’s ex-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was shot dead earlier Friday during a campaign speech in the city of Nara.

The 67-year-old veteran politician, who was Japan’s longest serving prime minister, was shot twice in the back.

The Japanese security forces arrested Tetsuya Yamagami, a-41-year-old man, at the site of the shooting.

Photos and videos taking from the scene show that the suspect used a home-made shotgun to attack the former premier.

This is the first high-profile political assassination Japan has witnessed since the 1960s.

During his tenure as prime minister, Egyptian-Japanese relations witnessed a leap especially in bilateral cooperation.

President El-Sisi met Abe several times including in June 2019 on the sidelines of G20 meetings in Osaka and in August 2019 on the sidelines of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.  

In 2020, in a gesture of appreciation, the Egyptian president ordered that a new road that links El-Shahid Axis with Suez Road and Ring Road in Cairo to be named after Shinzo Abe.

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