US President Donald Trump on Monday presented the prestigious Legion of Merit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating strategic partnership of the two countries and emergence of India as a global power.
India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, accepted the award on behalf of the Prime Minister from the US National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien at the White House.
President Trump "presented the Legion of Merit to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his leadership in elevating the US-India strategic partnership," O'Brien said in a tweet.
Modi was presented with the highest degree Chief Commander of the Legion of Merit which is given only to the Head of State or Government.
The award is in recognition of his ‘steadfast leadership and vision’ that elevated the strategic partnership between the United States and India to address global challenges.
O'Brien in another tweet said that Trump also presented the Legion of Merit to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The awards were received by their respective ambassadors in Washington DC.
President Trump "awarded the Legion of Merit to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for his leadership and vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific," he said.
Trump awarded the Legion of Merit to Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his leadership in addressing global challenges and promoting collective security, O'Brien tweeted.
Narendra Modi has earlier received awards from other countries, such as the Order of Abdulaziz Al Saud from Saudi Arabia in 2016, the State Order of Ghazi Amir Amanullah Khan (2016), the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine Award (2018), the Order of Zayed Award by United Arab Emirates (2019), the Order of St Andrew by Russia (2019), and the Order of the Distinguished Rule of Nishan Izzuddin by Maldives (2019).