Japan PM's Assam visit called off; reason not shared with state: Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on June 23 said the proposed visit of the Prime Minister of Japan to Assam has been cancelled due to logistical issues, though the Japanese leader's visit to New Delhi will proceed as scheduled.

Addressing the media, Sarma said that India's Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri, informed the Assam Chief Secretary at around 10:30 pm on Monday about the cancellation of the Assam leg of the visit.

"The Foreign Secretary communicated that the proposed visit of the Prime Minister of Japan has been cancelled due to logistical issues. However, the visit will now be confined to New Delhi only. We have also been assured that the proposed investment summit will be held on a mutually agreed date," Sarma said.

The Chief Minister stated that no detailed reason for the cancellation had been provided by the Ministry of External Affairs and that the state government would seek further clarification.

"The reason behind the cancellation has not been explained to us. We will have to ascertain the actual reason. When I visit Delhi and meet External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, I hope to get a clearer picture," he said.

Describing the development as disappointing, Sarma recalled that a proposed visit by the Japanese Prime Minister in 2019 had also not materialised.

"It is a sad moment for us. For the past one month, officials from the Japanese Embassy had been stationed in Guwahati, monitoring every aspect of the preparations. Hotel arrangements, food and other logistical details had already been finalised ahead of the visit," he said.

The Chief Minister added that he did not wish to speculate on the reasons for the cancellation without receiving official information from the concerned authorities.

"I will assess the situation later and understand why the visit was cancelled. At this stage, I do not want to comment further without proper information," Sarma said.

Despite the setback, the Assam government remains hopeful that the proposed investment summit involving Japanese participation will take place at a later date.