On Sunday, June 25th, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi conferred Egypt’s highest state honour, the ‘Order of the Nile’ award, upon PM Narendra Modi in the country’s capital, Cairo.
#WATCH | Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi confers PM Narendra Modi with 'Order of the Nile' award, in Cairo
— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2023
'Order of the Nile', is Egypt's highest state honour. pic.twitter.com/e59XtoZuUq
PM Modi is currently on a two-day visit to Egypt which is his maiden State visit to the country. It is worth noting that he is the first Indian PM to visit the African country since 1997. Upon his arrival in Cairo from the USA, PM Modi was accorded a ceremonial welcome and a Guard of Honour.
Order of the Nile
The Order of the Nile (Kiladat El Nil) was established in 1915 by Sultan Hussein Kamel of Egypt. According to the official website of the Egyptian Presidency, the ‘Order of Nile’ is the country’s highest state honour and it can be given to foreigners as well. The award is given to those individuals who offer Egypt or humanity invaluable services.
The website further reads, “The Order of the Nile is a pure gold collar consisting of three square gold units on which there are Pharaonic symbols. The first unit resembles the idea of protecting the state against evils, the second one resembles prosperity and happiness brought by the Nile and the third one refers to wealth and endurance.”
It adds, “The units are connected to one another by a circular gold flower decorated with turquoise and ruby. Hanging from the collar is a hexagonal pendant decorated with flowers of the Pharaonic style, and turquoise and ruby gems. In the middle of the pendant, there is a protruding symbol representing the Nile that brings together the North (represented by the Papyrus) and the South (represented by the Lotus).”
Earlier, PM Modi paid a visit to the Heliopolis Commonwealth War Cemetery. There he paid his respects to the Indian soldiers who demonstrated bravery and made the ultimate sacrifice in Egypt and Palestine during the First World War.
Before that, he held a meeting with Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouly. They held talks on deepening cooperation across a range of sectors including trade and investment, renewable energy, green hydrogen, IT, digital payment platforms, pharma and people-to-people ties.
Past awards received by PM Modi
Over the course of the past nine years, PM Modi has been honoured with numerous international awards. The recent accolade marks the 13th highest state honor bestowed upon him by various countries around the world.
Earlier in May 2023, the Island nation of Papua New Guinea conferred PM Modi with their highest civilian award, ‘Companion of the Order of Logohu’.
In May 2023, Fiji also awarded PM Modi with their highest honour, ‘Companion of the Order of Fiji’.
Similarly, in May 2023, President Surangel S. Whipps, Jr. of the Republic of Palau conferred PM Modi with the ‘Ebakl Award by the Republic of Palau’.
In December 2021, PM Modi won ‘Order of the Druk Gyalpo’, Bhutan’s highest civilian decoration.
In 2020, the US bestowed PM Modi with the ‘Legion of Merit by the US Government’.
In 2019, Bahrain conferred PM Modi with ‘King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’.
Similarly, Maldives conferred PM Modi with the ‘Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddin’ in the same year.
In 2019, Russia bestowed PM Modi with their Highest civilian honour, the ‘Order of St. Andrew Award’.
Another award in the line is, UAE’s ‘Order of Zayed Award’, the Highest civilian honour of the United Arab Emirates was awarded to PM Modi in 2019.
A year before that, in 2018, Palestine awarded PM Modi with their Highest honor for foreign dignitaries, the ‘Grand Collar of the State of Palestine Award’.
In 2016, Afghanistan gave its Highest civilian honour, ‘State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan’ to PM Modi.
In 2016, Saudi Arabia gave PM Modi, the ‘Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud’, the Highest honour of Saudi Arabia awarded to non-muslim dignitaries.
