Slovakia has conferred its highest civilian honour, the Order of the White Double Cross (1st Class), on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, marking the 33rd international award bestowed upon him by a foreign nation.
Following the ceremony, PM Modi took to social media to thank the people and government of Slovakia for the honour.
“It is an honor for me that tonight in Bratislava I received the Order of the White Double Cross (First Class). I thank the citizens and government of the Slovak Republic for this award, which belongs to all 1.4 billion inhabitants of India. I dedicate this distinction to the lasting friendship between India and Slovakia,” he said.
What is happening?
The honour comes after Prime Minister Modi's "excellent meeting" with Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico in Bratislava, highlighting the untapped potential of bilateral ties.
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the two countries announced the creation of a Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism and agreed to establish a Consular Dialogue mechanism to deepen cooperation on consular issues.
India and Slovakia also signed an MoU on Labour Migration to facilitate the movement of professionals and skilled workers, along with a Letter of Intent on defence cooperation aimed at promoting joint development, joint production and collaboration between their defence industries.
Several other agreements were signed during the visit across a range of sectors, including digital technologies, higher education and research, and audio-visual creation.
The two sides also announced the establishment of the first-ever Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Chair in Artificial Intelligence at the Technical University of Kosice.
