New Delhi, Apr 4 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday thanked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for conferring country's highest civilian award 'Order of Zayed' to him, saying that he respects the award with full humility.
In tweets in Hindi, English and Urdu, the PM said, "Thank you, Your Highness Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. I accept this honour with utmost humility. Under your visionary leadership, our strategic ties have reached new heights. This friendship is contributing to the peace and prosperity of our people and planet.’’
Earlier on Thursday, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj welcomed conferring of the UAE's highest civilian award to Mr Modi.
"On behalf of the people of India, I express our deep sense of gratitude to His Highness the President, His Highness the Crown Prince of UAE for this great honour. With this, you have honoured India and the people of India," Ms Swaraj tweeted.
The award will be "in recognition of Prime Minister’s stellar role in ushering in a new era of strategic partnership with UAE and the best ever relations with the Islamic world".
"I am extremely happy to welcome the announcement of Order of Zayed for a great son of India Prime Minister Narendra Modi by His Highness," the Minister said.
In his missive in the micro blogging site, Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said,"Indeed a very proud moment for India as UAE confers Zayed Medal to our popular PM Narendra Modi ji. The award recognises the stellar role played by Prime Minister in forging deeper ties with UAE and the larger Islamic world".
In recent times the UAE authorities have shown immense cooperation with Indian agencies and helped to get extradition of AgustaWestland middlemen Christian Michel and others like Rajeev Saxena and corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar.
Taking to Twitter, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed conveyed the message.
"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," tweeted the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (2007), Chinese Premier Xi Jinping (2018), Queen Elizabeth (2010) and King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (2016) have been among the earlier recipients of the award.
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