PM Modi conferred highest civilian awards by Papua New Guinea, Fiji

PORT MORESBY (Papua New Guinea): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday received the highest civilian honour from two Pacific Island countries, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, on the sidelines of the third Forum of India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit.

Fiji awarded PM Modi with the highest honour, ‘Companion of the Order of Fiji’ in recognition of his global leadership. “PM @narendramodi has been conferred the highest honour of Fiji, the Companion of the Order of Fiji. It was presented to him by PM @slrabuka,” tweeted the Prime Minister’s Office.

Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka conferred PM Modi with the highest honour in the country which is given to only a handful of Non-Fijians. PM Modi said, “…This honour is not just mine but that of 140 crore Indians, of centuries-old India-Fiji relations…”

Papua New Guinea also conferred the ‘Companion of the Order of Logohu’ to PM Modi for championing the cause of unity of Pacific Island countries and spearheading the cause of the Global South. Very few non-residents of Papua New Guinea have received this award.

In a tweet, the Prime Minister’s Office said, “Papua New Guinea has conferred the Companion of the Order of Logohu on PM Narendra Nodi. It was presented to him by Papua New Guinea Governor-General Sir Bob Dadae.”

“An honour emblematic of the depth of India-Papua New Guinea relationship. 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)”, tweeted Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi.

PM Modi has also been accorded the ‘Ebakl Award’ of Palau by President Surangel Whipps Jr, on the sidelines of the third India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit in Papua New Guinea. Taking to Twitter, PM Modi said, “Had a wonderful meeting with President Surangel S Whipps, Jr of the Republic of Palau on the sidelines of FIPIC Summit.”

The Prime Minister arrived on the second leg of his three-nation visit to Papua New Guinea on Sunday after attending G7 Summit in Japan’s Hiroshima. PM Modi arrived in Papua New Guinea on May 21 at the Port Moresby airport where Prime Minister James Marape touched PM Modi’s feet and sought his blessings. He co-chaired the 3rd India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) Summit.

This is not the first time when PM Modi was conferred with the international awards. In 2016, Saudi Arabia awarded PM Modi with the ‘Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud’, the highest honour of Saudi Arabia awarded to non-Muslim dignitaries. In the same year, he received the highest civilian honour in Afghanistan, ‘State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan’.

In 2018, PM Modi was conferred with the highest honour of Palestine award the ‘Grand Collar of the State of Palestine Award’ which is given to foreign dignitaries. The following year, the UAE conferred the highest civilian honour to PM Modi which was the ‘Order of Zayed Award’. The same year, he received the ‘Order of St Andrew’ award, the highest civilian honour in Russia.

In 2019, he also received the ‘Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddin’, the highest honour of the Maldives awarded to foreign dignitaries and the ‘King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’, the ‘Bahrain Order’ which is the top honour by the gulf country.

In 2020, the US government conferred PM Modi with the ‘Legion of Merit’, which is an award of America’s Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. Bhutan too honoured PM Modi with the highest civilian decoration, the ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’ in December 2021.

On Monday Prime Minister Narendra Modi emplaned for Sydney from Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea. PM Modi will be on a three-day visit to Australia, with whom India signed a historic trade deal last year.

The PM decided to proceed with his visit to Sydney, after US President Joe Biden pulled out from the scheduled Quad Summit that was cancelled and later held on the sidelines of the just concluded G7 summit in Hiroshima

During his Australia visit PM Modi will hold a bilateral meeting with his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese. The leaders will discuss trade and investment, including efforts to boost trade between the two countries through a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement and work to strengthen people-to-people links, renewable energy, and defence and security cooperation, said the official statement released by the Australian government.

PM Modi will also meet Australian business leaders to drive Australia’s growing trade and investment relationship with India and take forward opportunities from the Australia-India CEO Forum held in Mumbai in March, according to the statement. “During the visit, the Prime Ministers will attend a community event in Sydney to celebrate Australia’s dynamic and diverse Indian diaspora, a core part of our multicultural community”, the statement added.

Meanwhile, Australian PM Albanese said he looks forward to visiting India in September in New Delhi for the G20 Leaders’ Summit, the world’s premier forum for economic cooperation.

Earlier on Monday, PM Modi also interacted with New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins. It is pertinent to mention that this is the first meeting since Hipkins became the country’s Prime Minister. “Had an excellent meeting with the New Zealand PM Chris Hipkins and discussed the full rage of India-New Zealand relations. We talked about how to improve commercial and cultural linkages between our nations”, tweeted PM Narendra Modi.

Australia is the final leg of the three-nation visit of PM Modi who began his journey by attending the G7 and Quad Summits in the Japanese city of Hiroshima.(ANI)