Political leaders from across world greet PM Modi on completing 25 years in public office

Political leaders from various countries across the world, including Japan, Bhutan and the Philippines, on Wednesday extended greetings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on completing 25 years in public office.

Modi was elected as the chief minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001, and went on to serve three consecutive terms in the State.

He was subsequently elected as prime minister of India in 2014. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi extended her best wishes to Modi on the occasion and praised his contribution to India’s development and its standing on the international stage. “For years, he has been striving to realise the development of Indian society and the nation, and since 2001, he has been serving in the position of head of Government with his outstanding political leadership,” she said in a post on X.

“Along with accelerating India’s development, he has elevated India’s prestige to new heights on the international stage as well. For all these accomplishments, as a fellow politician, I express my sentiments of respect,” she said. Referring to her recent visit to India in July, Takaichi said she had a “fortunate opportunity” to deliberate with Modi on concrete steps to take the Japan-India Special Strategic and Global Partnership to the “next level”. Noting that next year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of Japan-India diplomatic relations, she said she wishes to work with PM Modi to realise a Free and Open Indo-Pacific, “so that Japan and India, which share a strategic direction, can further advance our partnership”.

Thanking Takaichi, Modi said her visit to India this July “will remain unforgettable” for him as well. “It has further strengthened the India-Japan partnership... I am confident that our bilateral relations will reach new heights on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic ties,” he said in a social media post. In his greetings, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay called Modi “an avatar of our times”.

Recalling his meeting with Modi in New Delhi in 2019, as a private citizen, Tobgay said he told the Indian prime minister he saw him as an elder brother and “as an avatar of Vishnu”.

“In our part of the world, I explained, enlightened rulers have long been regarded as such,” Tobgay said, adding that Modi awakened in Indians a “powerful belief in themselves and in their country”. “They seemed prouder of India, more ambitious about its possibilities and more confident of its place in the world,” he said, adding that these were, to him, the qualities of an enlightened ruler.

Thanking Tobgay for his “heartfelt message”, Modi said India and Bhutan are bound by an enduring partnership rooted in mutual trust and understanding.

“I look forward to continuing our close cooperation to advance our shared vision of Viksit Bharat and a prosperous Bhutan,” he said. On the occasion, Philippines President Bongbong Marcos wished Modi continued success in his service to the people of India. “From Gujarat to leading the world’s largest democracy, Prime Minister Modi’s journey has been marked by a strong emphasis on good governance, innovation, technology, infrastructure and development, contributing to India’s transformation and its growing role on the global stage,” he said on X.

Marcos said India-Philippines ties continue to grow “from strength to strength”, adding that he looks forward to welcoming Modi to Manila for the ASEAN-India and East Asia Summits in November.