ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has bestowed Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Order of Zayed, its highest civilian award. The honour was conferred on Modi for his efforts to boost bilateral ties with the country.
"We have historical and comprehensive strategic ties with India, reinforced by the pivotal role of my dear friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who gave these relations a big boost. In appreciation of his efforts, the UAE President grants him the Zayed Medal," the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Mohamed bin Al Nahyan tweeted.
India and UAE share warm relations that received impetus after Prime Minister Modi paid a visit to the nation in 2015, the ministry of foreign affairs said.
The Crown Prince visited India in 2017 as the chief guest for Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
"The state visit of the Prime Minister to UAE on February 10-11, 2018 helped in sustaining the momentum generated by earlier visits of Crown Prince in 2017 and 2016 and that of PM in 2015," the MEA stated.
UAE accounts for 8 per cent of oil imports and is the fifth largest supplier of crude oil to India. UAE is also part of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) headquartered in Gurugram.
India-UAE trade stood at about USD 50 billion in 2017, making India the second largest trading partner of UAE, while UAE is India's third largest partner (after China and US). Moreover, UAE is India's second largest export destination, accounting for over USD 31 billion for the year 2016-17.