PM Modi conferred Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour

Saudi Arabia conferred its highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash, on India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The award is named after Abdulaziz Al Saud, the founder of the modern Saudi state. Mr Modi received the prestigious award by King Salman bin Abdulaziz at the Royal Court where they held extensive talks on bilateral, regional and international issues. “In a special gesture, PM Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash,” external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted. Among other prominent recipients of this honour are US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indonesian President Joko Widodo. The order is awarded to citizens of Saudi Arabia and foreigners for meritorious service to the Kingdom. Mr Modi gifted Saudi King Salman a gold-plated replica of a mosque in Kerala that was built by Arab traders in the early seventh century. King Salman has also accepted Mr Modi’s invitation to pay an official visit to India at a mutually convenient time.