SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Tashkent/Hyderabad: Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Uzbekistan’s highest honour for foreign leaders, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi congratulated him on Sunday, August 30.
Modi dedicated the ‘Oliy Darajali Do’stlik Order’ to the “enduring” bond between New Delhi and Tashkent.
Reacting to the news, Owaisi said, “I congratulate the BJP; the very country from which Babur came to India has conferred an award upon the Prime Minister. The Fergana Valley is in Uzbekistan.”
“Wherever the Prime Minister goes these days, he returns with an award. Congratulations. You used to hurl so many insults in Babur’s name, yet the people of that very country are now honouring you with an award. The Sangh needs to reflect on this… We hope that members of the Sangh Parivar and RSS supporters will no longer speak of Babur in that manner…”
Meanwhile, Modi was in Uzbekistan on a two-day visit to bolster ties in a range of areas, including trade, clean energy and connectivity. This honour is an addition to his list of top state and civilian awards from close to three dozen countries.
The Prime Minister was conferred with the honour by Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
“Honoured to receive the Oliy Darajali Do’stlik Order. I dedicate this to the enduring bond between India and Uzbekistan,” Modi said in a social media post.
The Ministry of External Affairs said on X that Modi was conferred the honour for his “contribution in strengthening the friendship between the two countries”.
India familiar with ‘Dostlik’
The PM said the people of India are very familiar with the word used for the award, ‘Dostlik’.
“There is hardly a family in India where the word ‘Dostlik’ is not spoken a hundred times a day. Today, you have truly brought out the essence of it. ‘Dostlik’ means friendship. The word itself beautifully expresses the sentiment at the heart of the relationship between India and Uzbekistan,” he said.
Modi said receiving the award was not his personal honour but an honour for 1.4 billion Indians.
“On behalf of all Indians, I sincerely thank the people of Uzbekistan, the government, and my dear friend, the President. I accept this highest honour with utmost humility and dedicate it to the centuries-old friendship between our two countries and our shared heritage,” he said.
Past accolades
This year itself, the PM has had many awards conferred on him. In July, Indonesia conferred upon Modi its highest civilian award, the ‘Bintang Adipurna of the Republic of Indonesia’, recognising his contribution to strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries.
In June, Seychelles conferred its highest national honour, the ‘Guardian of the Blue Horizon’, on Modi in recognition of his leadership in environmental conservation and sustainable development.
Earlier this year, Israel conferred upon him the ‘Medal of the Knesset’, making him the first recipient of the honour.
Russia conferred upon Modi the ‘Order of St. Andrew the Apostle’ in 2024, the country’s highest state decoration, for his contribution to deepening the strategic partnership between India and Russia.
The United States also awarded Modi one of the country’s top honours, the ‘Legion of Merit’, in 2020 in recognition of his leadership in strengthening the India-US strategic partnership.
India-Uzbekistan for comprehensive strategic partnership
On Sunday, Modi held talks with Mirziyoyev, following which India and Uzbekistan decided to elevate their ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
The two countries also set a target of USD 5 billion in bilateral trade by 2030 and agreed to strengthen cooperation in areas including trade and investment, digital public infrastructure, defence, healthcare, critical minerals, agriculture, education and tourism.
Later in the evening, Modi arrived in Kyrgyzstan, where he is scheduled to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit on August 31-September 1 and hold a series of bilateral meetings on the sidelines.
He was received at the airport by Kasymaliev Adylbek Aleshovich, chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers.
Modi is visiting Kyrgyzstan at the invitation of President Sadyr Zhaparov.
With PTI inputs
SOURCE : SIASAT
