NE NEWS SERVICE
NEW DELHI, AUG 25
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the prestigious Grand Cross of the Order of Honour by Greek President Katerina N Sakellaropoulou on Friday, a special honour reflecting the strength of the India-Greece partnership.
I thank President Katerina Sakellaropoulou, the Government and people of Greece for conferring upon me The Grand Cross of the Order of Honour. This shows the respect the people of Greece have towards India. @PresidencyGR pic.twitter.com/UWBua3qbPf
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 25, 2023
The honour is bestowed by the Greek president to prime ministers and eminent personalities who, by reason of their distinguished position, have contributed to enhancing the stature of Greece.
In a tweet, Modi thanked President Sakellaropoulou, and the Government and people of Greece for conferring upon him The Grand Cross of the Order of Honour.
“This shows the respect the people of Greece have towards India,” he said, sharing a picture of the event.
The Ministry of External Affairs in a tweet said it is “a special honour reflecting the strength of the India-Greece partnership”.
The citation, according to pmindia.gov.in website, says, In the person of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, an honour is bestowed upon the friendly people of India.
On the occasion of this visit, the Greek State Honours the Prime Minister of India, a statesman who has tirelessly promoted the global reach of his country and who works systematically for India’s economic progress and prosperity, bringing about bold reforms. A statesman who has brought environmental protection and climate change among the top priorities of international activity, it states.
The Order of Honour was established in 1975. The head of goddess Athena is depicted on the front side of the Star with the inscription ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS SHOULD BE HONOURED.
Modi, who is in Athens at the invitation of Prime Minister of Greece Kyriakos Mitsotakis, arrived in the Greek capital from South Africa where he attended the 15th BRICS Summit.
This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Greece in the last 40 years. The last high-level visit to Greece took place in September 1983 when then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi travelled to the country.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also met Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece in Athens on 25 August 2023.
The two leaders held discussions in one-on-one and delegation-level formats. Prime Minister expressed his condolences for the loss of life and property lives in the tragic incidents of forest fires in Greece.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis congratulated Prime Minister on the success of the Chandrayaan mission, terming it as a success for humanity.
The discussions covered various dimensions of the bilateral partnership, including trade and investment, defense and security, technology, infrastructure, digital payments, shipping, pharma, agriculture, migration and mobility, tourism, skill development, culture, education and people to people ties. They also discussed regional and multilateral issues, including the EU, Indo-Pacific and the Mediterranean. They called for respect of international law, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Both sides agreed to elevate their relationship to a ‘Strategic Partnership’.
Awards and accolades
Prime Minister Modi has been honoured by countries across the world. Recently, during his visit to Paris in July, Modi was conferred with the highest honour of France, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, by French President Emmanuel Macron.
In June, Modi was conferred with the Order of the Nile’, Egypt’s highest honour, by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, during his visit to the Arab nation.
During his US visit in 2020, Modi was conferred with the Legion of Merit award by then president Donald Trump.
In 2019, the prime minister was conferred with the King Hamad Order of the Renaissance by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa. It is the top honour in the Gulf country.
Modi was also honoured with Russia’s highest civilian award, Order of St Andrew Award, in 2019. In the same year, he also received Order of Zayed Award, the highest civilian honour of UAE.
