PM Modi to be conferred Trinidad &Tobago's highest honour
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar had yesterday announced that Trinidad and Tobago would confer the award on the visiting Indian Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister expressed his heartfelt gratitude to her and the people of Trinidad and Tobago for this honor.
This would be Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 25th international honour.
Modi, who is in Trinidad and Tobago as part of his five-nation tour, will hold talks with the top leadership of Trinidad and Tobago to further strengthen bilateral relations.
Earlier, PM Modi was received by his counterpart Persad-Bissessar at Piarco International Airport, where he was accorded a ceremonial welcome and a guard of honour.
While addressing an Indian community event in Trinidad and Tobago, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar hailed the relationship between the two nations and said, "These are ties of ancestry, of kinship, of sacrifice, and of love. We are bound by history, by shared struggle, and we're bound by common dreams. Through your benevolence, you brought hope and calm where there was fear. This was more than diplomacy. This was an act of kinship, shared humanity, and love. This is one of the many reasons we are deeply proud to bestow upon you The Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, our nation's highest honor, to be conferred tomorrow..."
The Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago praised PM Modi's leadership, calling him a "transformational force who has refined the governance of India."
She stated that PM Modi has modernized India's economy through his visionary and futuristic initiatives. While addressing the Indian community event in Trinidad and Tobago, Persad-Bissessar said, "What inspires this gathering most is your enduring commitment to the Indian diaspora, promoting culture, history, and the spirit of our shared journey. The ties that bind India and Trinidad and Tobago are not merely diplomatic in nature."
Addressing the community event, PM Persad-Bissessar said, "Namaste, Sita-Ram, and good evening. This evening, we are graced by the presence of someone near and dear to us. We are graced by a leader whose visit is not just a matter of protocol but a profound honor for us. So, I am deeply privileged to join everyone here in welcoming one of the world's most respected and admired visionary leaders, the Honourable Shri Narendra Modiji, Prime Minister of the Republic of India, and his delegation on this very historic state visit to Trinidad and Tobago. Prime Minister Modi, your presence is a great inspiration to all of us, particularly to the Indo-Trinidadian community, whose roots are planted in the same blessed Indian soil from which you emerged."
Recalling Modi's earlier visit to Trinidad and Tobago in 2002, when he was not Prime Minister of India, she stated that he returned to Trinidad and Tobago as a "distinguished and celebrated leader" whose influence transcends borders.
Mentioning the Fatel Razack, the first ship that carried Indians to Trinidad in 1845, she said, "On your first visit to our country, you were not then Prime Minister. But as part of a cultural ambassador, as part of the World Hindu Conference in 2002. Today, sir, you return as the head of a government of more than 1.4 billion people. You return as a distinguished and celebrated leader whose influence transcends boundaries. We bow to you, sir."
The visit is of particular significance as it represents PM Modi's first official trip to the Caribbean nation as India's Prime Minister, and is also the first bilateral Prime Ministerial-level visit from India to Trinidad and Tobago since 1999. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the last Prime Minister to have visited the country in 1999.
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