UAE Awards Highest Civilian Honour to the Prime Minister | 19 Aug 2019

The United Arab Emirates(UAE) has awarded ZAYED Medal, the highest civilian award to the Prime Minister of India for consolidating the long-standing friendship and joint strategic cooperation between the two nations.

• It can be noted that recently India was invited by the host UAE as the "Guest of Honour” to attend the 46^th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
  
  • This was the first time that India was invited to any OIC meeting as a guest of honor.

Zayed Medal

• The Order of Zayed is awarded to the Head of Government/Head of State for their international relations with UAE.
• The order is in the name of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE.
• It consists of a collar cantered by a medallion bearing the name 'Zayed’.
• In the past, this award has been conferred to
  
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin,
  • Former US President George W Bush,
  • Former French President Nicholas Sarkozy,
  • German Chancellor Angela Merkel,
  • Chinese President Xi Jinping
  • UK's Queen Elizabeth II.

Source: The Hindu