Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Sunday conferred with Egypt’s highest state honor, the ‘Order of the Nile’ by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Cairo, according to the Indian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The award is the 13th state honor to be bestowed upon Prime Minister Modi by a foreign government, making him the most decorated Indian leader.
During the final day of his two-day state visit to Egypt, PM Modi also held delegation-level talks with the Egyptian President at the presidential place.
According to Indian foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi, the leaders discussed ways to deepen trade and investment ties as well as bolster cooperation in the areas of defense and security, renewables, culture and people-to-people ties.
The Indian foreign ministry said that they had also signed an agreement to “elevate” the bilateral relationship to the level of “Strategic Partnership”, which was agreed upon during President el-Sisi’s visit to New Delhi in January of this year.
Additionally, the two governments have signed three Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in the realms of agriculture, archaeology and antiquities and competition law, Bagchi stated.
Modi Visits 11th Century Mosque in Cairo
According to the Indian PM's office, Modi also visited the Al-Hakim Mosque in the Egyptian capital. The 11th century mosque, the fourth-oldest in Cairo, has been restored with help from India’s Dawood Bohra community.
The community has a sizeable presence in Modi’s home state of Gujarat.
India’s Ambassador to Egypt Ajit Gupte has noted that Modi has a “very close attachement” to the Bohra community.
The Indian leader also visited the Heliopolis War Cemetery in Cairo to pay his tributes to Indian troops who sacrificed their lives while fighting alongside the Allied forces during World War I.