Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit, which is the highest civilian honour of Norway, on Monday. This is the 32nd international honour that the prime minister has received.ย
The Grand Cross of the Royal Norwegian Order of Merit is the highest civilian award of Norway that was founded by King Olav V in 1985. It is conferred on foreign and Norwegian nationals as a “reward for their outstanding service in the interest of Norway and mankind”.
The Order of Merit is divided into five categories: Grand Cross, Grand Officer, Commander, Officer and Knight. “The Insignia of the Order is returned to the Council of the Order in the event of the promotion or death of the recipient,” as per the information available on the official website of the Royal House of Norway.
PM Modi receives Sweden’s Royal Order of Polar Star
This comes a day after PM Modi was honoured with ‘Royal Order of the Polar Star, Degree Commander Grand Cross’, which is the highest civilian award of Sweden. This honour was conferred to him in “recognition of his exceptional contributions to bilateral ties and his visionary leadership”.
The prime minister later had thanked the Swedish government for this award and said it reflects the strong partnership between India and Sweden, as he hoped that the relationship between them will continue to grow.
“This is not just an honour for me, but for the 140 crore people of India. It’s equally a tribute to all our friends in Sweden who have enriched India-Sweden relations and given them a strong foundation,” he had posted on X.
PM Modi’s Norway visit
Earlier in the day, PM Modi arrived in Norway as part of his five-nation tour. He was received by Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Stรธre upon his arrival in the Nordic nation. This is PM Modi’s maiden visit to Norway.
After arriving in Norway, he held delegation-level talks with Stรธre and addressed a joint press conference with him, in which he called for resolving the Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict via dialogue. He also thanked the Norwegian government for supporting India after the Pahalgam terror attack last year that claimed 26 lives.
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