Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred the Order of Zayed, UAE’s highest civilian award, by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Saturday. PM Modi reached Abu Dhabi, UAE’s capital city from Paris on Friday, on the second leg of his three-nation tour to France, UAE and Bahrain.
“I am humbled to get the ‘Order of Zayed’ a while ago. This award is not for an individual but for the spirit of Indian culture and is dedicated to the skills and abilities of 1.3 billion Indians. I thank the Government of the United Arab Emirates for this honour,” the Prime Minister said in a tweet.
The award has earlier been bestowed on several world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Queen Elizabeth II and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Conferring the award on the Indian prime minister, the crown prince, also expressed gratitude to his “brother” for visiting “his second home” and for his efforts to boost bilateral ties between the two nations.
In Abu Dhabi, the two leaders discussed measures to improve trade and cultural ties between India and the UAE. PM Modi and Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan also discussed the “full spectrum of the strong India-UAE partnership”, which has been “built over generations”, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
