UAE govt confers Zayed Medal on Indian PM Narendra Modi
Times News Service
MUSCAT: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honored with the Zayed Medal by the Government of the UAE.
According to an announcement, the award was conferred by the UAE’s President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Zayed Medal is the highest civilian honour in the UAE.
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, praised Modi for boosting relations between the Emirates and India. “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, the UAE President grants him the Zayed Medal,” Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed wrote on his official twitter account.
Modi accepted the award, tweeting, “I accept this honour with the utmost humility.”
Indian officials praised the move. Sushma Swaraj, India’s Minister of External Affairs, said the award was “in recognition of the Prime Minister’s stellar role in ushering in a new era if strategic partnership with the UAE and the best ever relations with the Islamic world.”
Praising the leaders of the UAE, Swaraj added, “With this, you have honoured India and the people of India.” India’s ambassador to the UAE, Navdeep Suri, called it “a testimony to the dramatic transformation that we have witnessed in our ties since Prime Minister’s landmark visit in August 2015.
“We saw this manifest in the initiative taken by the UAE to invite our Minister for External Affairs as Chief Guest at the meeting of OIC Foreign Ministers that was held in Abu Dhabi in March, “said Suri.
The ambassador added, “We have seen a steady flow of investments by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and by other major entities into areas like housing, highways, renewable energy, financial markets and even in stressed assets.”