Slovakia has awarded its highest civilian award, the Double White Cross (First Class), to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on the occasion of the 33rd international award bestowed upon him by a foreign country.
Following the ceremony, Prime Minister Modi took to social media to thank the people and government of Slovakia for the honour.
“It is an honor for me to be awarded the Double White Cross (First Class) tonight in Bratislava. I thank the citizens and government of the Slovak Republic for this award, which belongs to the entire 1.4 billion population of India. I dedicate this award to the enduring friendship between India and Slovakia,” he said.
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What is happening?
The honor comes after Prime Minister Modi’s “excellent meeting” with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Bratislava, highlighting the untapped potential of bilateral relations.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two countries announced the establishment of a joint counter-terrorism task force, and agreed to establish a consular dialogue mechanism to deepen cooperation on consular issues.
India and Slovakia also signed a memorandum of understanding on labor migration to facilitate the movement of professionals and skilled workers, along with a letter of intent on defense cooperation that aims to promote joint development, joint production and cooperation between the defense industries of the two countries.
Many other agreements were signed during the visit across a range of sectors, including digital technologies, higher education, research and audio-visual creativity.
The two sides also announced the establishment of the first Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Chair in Artificial Intelligence at Kosice Technical University.
