Jerusalem: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday conferred with the ‘Speaker of the Knesset Medal’ in recognition of his exceptional contribution to strengthening strategic relations between India and Israel.
The Indian prime minister is the first leader to receive this medal, which is the highest honour of the Knesset – the Israeli Parliament.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana conferred the award on the prime minister after his address at the Israeli Parliament.
Modi is among the few global leaders to have received top civilian honours from both Israel and Palestine.
In 2018, he was conferred the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine, the highest Palestinian award granted to foreign dignitaries.
Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of his address to the Knesset, describing him as “a great friend of Israel, a great champion of the Indian-Israeli alliance, a great leader on the world stage.” Netanyahu referred to Modi as a “dear friend” and said he was deeply moved by the visit.
“I have to tell you, Narendra, my dear friend, I am deeply, deeply moved by your visit here today. I’ve never been more moved than by your visit here with us, a great friend of Israel, a great champion of the Indian-Israeli alliance, a great leader on the world stage. Welcome to Jerusalem, my dear friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and your distinguished delegation,” he said.
“I would almost venture to say, more than a friend, a brother. Now, when you were last here, we, the two of us, were on the Mediterranean coast, and I said, why don’t we take off our shoes and go into the water?… We didn’t walk on water, but we did perform miracles since then. Because what we have done is we’ve doubled our trade, tripled our cooperation, quadrupled our understanding,” he added.
This marks PM Modi’s second visit to Israel in nine years. Bilateral ties were elevated to a strategic partnership during his maiden visit in July 2017.
