New Delhi: As Assam reeled under violent protests over the Citizenship Amendment Bill, India announced on Friday that the annual summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe, which was scheduled to be held in Guwahati, has been postponed.
Abe was scheduled to arrive in Guwahati on Sunday on a three-day India visit to hold summit talks with Modi.
"With reference to the proposed visit of Japanese PM @AbeShinzo to India, both sides have decided to defer the visit to a mutually convenient date in the near future," Spokesperson in the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar tweeted.
Assam has been witnessing massive protests in the last two days with thousands of people hitting the streets defying prohibitory orders to demand to scrap of the bill.
At least two persons died due to bullet injuries on Thursday after police opened fire on protesters in Guwahati. On Wednesday, protesters pulled down hoardings erected in central Guwahati to welcome Abe.
Last year, Japan hosted the summit in picturesque Yamanashi prefecture during which both sides had resolved to significantly expand bilateral cooperation in a range of areas.
Reflecting growing congruence in bilateral ties, the two countries held their inaugural foreign and defence ministerial dialogue two weeks back which prepared the ground for the Modi-Abe summit.
The Indo-Japan defence and foreign ministerial dialogue took place following a decision taken by Modi and Abe during last year's annual summit.
