New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Manama on Saturday for his two-day state visit to Bahrain to hold extensive talks with the country’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on various bilateral issues. The prime minister is also accompanied by National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval during the visit.
This is the first visit of an Indian Prime Minister to Bahrain. During the visit, Modi will witness the formal beginning of the re-development of the temple of Shreenathji—the oldest in the Gulf region.
The prime minister is on the third leg of his three-nation tour to France, UAE and Bahrain. Modi arrived in Manama after wrapping up his UAE visit where he held extensive talks with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
During the visit, Modi was honoured with the ‘Order of Zayed’, the UAE’s highest civilian award, on in recognition of his pivotal role in building the strategic relationship between the two countries. The award has earlier been bestowed on several world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Modi thanked the UAE government for the honour and dedicated the award to the skills and abilities of 1.3 billion Indians. The award was conferred on Modi by the Abu Dhabi crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a ceremony held at the Presidential Palace in Abu Dhabi.
“Humbled to be conferred the ‘Order of Zayed’ a short while ago. More than an individual, this award is for India’s cultural ethos and is dedicated to 130 crore Indians. I thank the UAE Government for this honour,” Modi tweeted later.
From Bahrain, Modi is scheduled to return to France on Sunday to attend the G7 Summit meeting, where he is also scheduled to meet US President Donald Trump. The US President had said that he will discuss the Kashmir issue with him.
(With PTI Inputs)
