Indian PM Modi conferred with highest honours of Fiji, Papua New Guinea

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the highest civilian honours of Fiji and Papua New Guineaon Monday (May 22). This comes as PM Modi travelled to Papua New Guinea on a historic trip and attended the third Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit.

‘Companion of the Order of Fiji’

The Indian PM was conferred with the highest honour of Fiji, the ‘Companion of the Order of Fiji’ by his Fijian counterpart, PM Sitiveni Rabuka, in “recognition of his global leadership,” said the Prime Minister’s Office. The statement also said that only a handful of Non-Fijians have received this honour to date.

The Ministry of External Affairs said that PM Modi has dedicated the honour to the people of India and to the generations of the Fiji-Indian community who have played a key role in the special and enduring bond between the two countries.

PM Modi also took to Twitter and expressed his gratitude to the people and the government of Fiji as well as PM Rabuka for presenting the award, “It is an honour for the people of India and a recognition of the strong ties between India and Fiji,” said the Indian PM.

Papua New Guinea’s ‘Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu’ award

Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae of Papua New Guinea conferred PM Modi with the country’s highest civilian award, ‘Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL)’ for championing the cause of unity of Pacific Island countries and spearheading the cause of Global South. Former United States President Bill Clinton is among those conferred with the honour in the past.

The Indian PM also took to Twitter and said he is humbled by the gesture of Papua New Guinea for conferring him with the honour and said that it was a “great recognition of India and the accomplishments of our people.”

Previous notable awards, and honours conferredon PM Modi

In 2021, PM Modi was conferred with ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’, also known as ‘Ngadag Pel gi Khorlo’, which is the highest civilian award of Bhutan.Prime Minister Lotay Tshering said that the award was given to his Indian counterpart for the “unconditional friendship/ and support” that he extended over the years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Former United States President Donald Trump, in 2020, had presented the prestigious ‘Legion of Merit’ award to PM Modi for his leadership in elevating the US-India strategic partnership.

In 2019, PM Modi was conferred the ‘King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’ by Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa. He was also the first Indian PM to visit Bahrain at the time and received the honour for efforts to strengthen bilateral relations with the key Gulf nation.

The same year, PM Modi was also honoured with the ‘Order of Zayed’ which is UAE’s highest civilian award, for his pivotal role in building a strategic relationship between the two countries.

Russia honoured the Indian PM with the country’s highest civilian honour, ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle,’ in 2019 for his “exceptional services” in promoting a special and privileged strategic partnership between Moscow and New Delhi.

(With inputs from agencies)

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