Thimphu, Mar 22 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday received Bhutan’s highest civilian award, the ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo,’ making him the first foreign Head of the Government to receive the honour.
The award recognizes Prime Minister Modi’s contribution to strengthening the India-Bhutan friendship and his people-centric leadership.
“The citation added that the award also honours India’s rise as a global power under his leadership, and celebrates Bhutan’s special bond with India. Prime Minister Modi’s leadership has set India on the path of transformation, and that India’s moral authority and global influence have grown,” a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
“Honoured to be conferred with ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’ Award by Bhutan. I dedicate it to 140 crore Indians,” Modi posted on X soon after.
Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck conferred the ‘Order of the Druk Glyalpo’ to Prime Minister Modi at a well-attended public ceremony here.
The King announced the conferment of the award during Bhutan’s 114th National Day celebrations held at the Tashichhodzong, Thimphu on December 17, 2021. On Friday, Prime Minister Modi received it during his two-day State visit, his third since he took over as the prime minister in 2014.
According to the ranking and precedence established, the Order of the Druk Gyalpo was instituted as the decoration for lifetime achievement and is the pinnacle of the honour system in Bhutan, taking precedence over all orders, decorations and medals, the MEA statement added.
In 2020, Modi received the ‘Legion of Merit from the US Government’ award of the US Armed Forces and in 2019, Russia conferred its highest civilian honour ‘The order of St. Andrew’ award on Modi.
Earlier in the day, hours after he arrived in the Himalayan nation, Modi said he was grateful to the Bhutanese people for according to him a “memorable welcome” to their beautiful country and hoped that India-Bhutan friendship “keeps scaling new heights.” Modi’s visit seeks to further cement India’s unique and enduring relations with Bhutan as part of the country’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy. PTI NPK AKJ NPK NPK
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.