Prime Minister Narendra Modi was ceremoniously presented with the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called, Russia's highest civilian honour, on July 9. The order was presented to PM Modi in recognition of his distinguished contribution to the development of a privileged strategic partnership between Russia and India and to fostering friendly ties between the two nations.
In a special ceremony at St. Andrew Hall in the Kremlin, President Putin conferred the Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The award, announced in 2019, was formally presented during this event.
Prime Minister Modi is the first Indian leader to receive this prestigious award, which was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great in honor of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and the patron saint of Russia.
While accepting the award, PM Modi dedicated it to the people of India and the traditional bonds of friendship between India and Russia. He emphasised that this recognition highlights the Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership between the two countries, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of External Affairs.
Presenting the honour, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated, "Dear friend, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to congratulate you for this highest Russian award and wish you good health, success and all the best. To the friendly people of India, I wish peace and prosperity".
"It gives me pleasure to present this honorary award (Order of St. Andrew) here at the Kremlin...It is the testimony to Russia's sincere gratitude for the significant contribution you are making to strengthening ties between the two nations. You have always actively advocated broader contacts with our country," further noted Putin.
He also added, "When you were the CM of Gujarat, you came up with initiatives to twinning your state with the Russian region. Now that you have been at the helm of the Indian govt for 10 years, you have genuinely strived to elevate Russian-Indian relations to a privileged strategic partnership...It would be impossible to over-emphasise your contribution to building a resilient framework for Russian Indian cooperation in the international arena where both our nations are defending the principle of multipolarity for the sake of stability, global and regional security, and working closely in BRICS and SCO".
PM Modi, expressing his delight on the occasion, stated, "I extend my heartfelt gratitude to you (President Putin) for honouring me with Russia's highest (civilian) award. This honour is not just mine, this is the honour of 140 crore Indians. This is the honour of the centuries-old deep friendship and mutual trust between India and Russia. This is the honour of our special and privileged strategic partnership. In the past 2.5 decades, under your leadership, India-Russia relations have strengthened in all directions and have scaled new heights each time. The foundation of strategic ties between the two nations that you had laid has only further strengthened with time. Our cooperation, based on people-to-partnership, is becoming the hope and guarantee of a better future for our people".
The Prime Minister also took to microblogging site X, expressing his delight at receiving the honour. "Honoured to receive the Order of St. Andrew the Apostle. I dedicate it to the people of India," he wrote.
The Order of St Andrew the Apostle the First-Called was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great in honor of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and the patron saint of Russia. This prestigious award is granted solely for the most outstanding civilian or military merit.
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