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Japan offers condolences to Northeast flood victims, assistance to Indian government

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma at the location of a landslide in Dangar under Mawsynram Block that claimed five lives from one family (Image courtesy: Twitter/@SangmaConrad)

Japan said on Thursday that it will always stand with the Narendra Modi government, the people of India and is ready to provide any assistance needed to restore facilities which have been extensively damaged by floods and landslides in the Northeast Region of India.

In a message to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi offered his sympathy on the damages caused due to the floods and landslides caused by the heavy rain which hit the states of Assam and Meghalaya.

"I would like to express my heartfelt condolences to the victims of the devastating disaster and sympathies to their bereaved families. I pray for the swift recovery of those who have suffered as well as the earliest possible reconstruction of the affected areas," said the minister in his message.  

"The government of Japan always stands with the government and the people of India, and is ready to provide any assistance it may need," he added.

Japan remains the only country which has an independent framework for discussing the development of India's North East and the one at such a high-level.

Tokyo is supporting the construction of the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge which will dramatically shorten the travel time across the Brahmaputra river from more than eight hours to less than 30 minutes. It will be the longest river bridge in India, creating a corridor stretching from Bhutan, through Assam and Meghalaya to Bangladesh.

Japan is also helping modernize the Umiam-Umtru Hydroelectric Power Station in Meghalaya and the Guwahati Water Supply and Guwahati Sewerage Project even as India continues to expand intermodal transport linkages and inland waterways through Bangladesh besides initiating flagship projects like Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project and the Trilateral Highway Project with Myanmar to connect the North East all the way till Thailand.

Also Read: India's North East can help shape Asia's future, says Japan