Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, April 4, was conferred with United Arab Emirate's highest civilian award - Zayed Medal - which is given to heads of states, kings and presidents. PM Modi received the honour in appreciation of his efforts in maintaining strategic ties with the UAE.
In a special gesture, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces made the announcement by posting a tweet. Referring to Modi as his "dear friend", Sheikh Mohamed said the award is in appreciation of Modi's role in consolidating the long-standing friendship and joint strategic cooperation between the two nations.
Taking to Twitter, the UAE President said, "We have historical and comprehensive strategic ties with India, reinforced by the pivotal role of my dear friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave these relations a big boost. In appreciation of his efforts, grants him the Zayed Medal."
According to a release, UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has conferred on Indian PM Modi, the Zayed Medal, the highest decoration awarded to kings, presidents and heads of states. The release also stated that the award came in appreciation of Narendra Modi's role in consolidating the long-standing friendship and joint strategic cooperation between the two countries.
India-UAE ties
Ties between India and UAE have been elevated to a new level ever since PM Modi visited Abu Dhabi in 2015. From inviting India for the first time ever as a guest of honour in the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) despite a boycott by Pakistan, to promising to invest $75 billion to boost infrastructure and to opening up the defence and space sector partnership, ties have reportedly come a long way in the past three years.
