UAE to confer its highest civilian awards on PM Modi

Appreciating the United Arab Emirates' decision to honour Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the country's highest civilian award, 'Zayed Award' on Thursday, Ministry of External Affairs said, "This singular honour is in the recognition of the efforts of the Government under the Prime Minister's leadership to develop a strategic partnership between India and the UAE."

In a statement issued by the MEA, the Ministry stated that the Gulf nation is home to the largest number of our citizens outside India, and is our partner in diverse pillars of cooperation, including investment, energy, defence, and security.

"The Government of the United Arab Emirates has decided to confer the country's highest civilian award "the Order of Zayed" on the Prime Minister of India," the statement read.

The statement further read, "We greatly appreciate this honour bestowed upon PM by HH Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed and the Government of the UAE."

In response to a query about Prime Minister Modi's possible visit to the UAE, MEA Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar on Thursday during the weekly press briefing said that the UAE is a strategic partner to India. He further added that Prime Minister Modi's visit is not yet decided.