Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Tuesday officially felicitated with the ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ award by Russian President Vladimir Putin for exceptional services in promoting bilateral ties between the two countries.
“Honoured to receive the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. I dedicate it to the people of India,” Modi said in a post on X after receiving the award at a ceremony here.
Established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia, the Order of St Andrew the Apostle is the highest state decoration of Russia.
In his address after being awarded, PM Modi said, “I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you (President Putin) for honouring me with Russia’s highest (civilian) award. This honour is not just mine, this is the honour of 140 crore Indians. This is the honour of the centuries-old deep friendship and mutual trust between India and Russia. This is the honour of our special and privileged strategic partnership.”
“In the past 2.5 decades, under your leadership, India-Russia relations have strengthened in all directions and have scaled new heights each time. The foundation of strategic ties between the two nations that you had laid has only further strengthened with the passing of time. Our mutual cooperation, based on people-to-partnership, is becoming the hope and guarantee of a better future of our people”, he added.
(with inputs from wire)
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