The ‘Order of the Nile’ is presented to heads of states, crown princes, and vice presidents.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi received Egypt’s highest state honour and his 13th international award on Sunday. The ‘Order of the Nile’ was conferred upon Modi by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during his state visit to the African country, the first by an Indian PM since 1997.
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Both the leaders signed important memorandums of understanding (MoU) during their bilateral discussions.
What is the ‘Order of the Nile’
According to the Egyptian Presidency’s website, the award is presented to heads of states, crown princes, and vice presidents. Egyptians and foreigners who provide ‘invaluable services’ to the country or humanity may also be eligible for the honour. Those who receive the ‘Order of the Nile’ shall be saluted upon their death.
The award is a pure gold collar consisting of three square gold units with pharaonic symbols. The first unit signifies protection of the state against evils, the second one stands for prosperity and happiness brought by the Nile and the third one represents wealth and endurance, the website states.
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A circular gold flower decorated with turquoise and ruby connects the three units. A hexagonal pendant decorated with flowers of the pharaonic style, and turquoise and ruby gems, hangs from the collar. A protruding symbol in the middle of the pendant symbolises the Nile that brings together the North (represented by the Papyrus) and the South (represented by the Lotus), the website said.
Here’s a list of foreign leaders honoured with ‘Order of the Nile’:
King Hussein of Jordan, 1955
President Jimmy Carter, President of the United States, 1979
Queen Elizabeth II, 1975
Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia
King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain, 2016
Émile Lahoud, President of Lebanon, 2000
Makarios III, former President of Cyprus
Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa
King Mohammed V of Morocco
Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of Kazakhstan
Antonín Novotný, President of Czechoslovakia
Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said of Oman, 1976
King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, 2016
King Khalid bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, 1975
Suharto, President of Indonesia
Walter Ulbricht, Chairman of the State Council of Germany, 1965
Walter Scheel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, 1976
George Vasiliou, President of Cyprus, 1989
Nicos Anastasiades, President of Cyprus , 2017
Gaafar Nimeiry, Chairman of the National Revolutionary Command Council and Prime Minister of the Sudan, 1969
Qaboos bin Said, Sultan of Oman, November 27, 1972
Haitham bin Tariq, Sultan of Oman, 2023
Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado, President of Cuba, 1960
Sandro Pertini, President of Italy, 1982
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President of Portugal, 2016
Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, 2016
Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, 1989
Carl Gustaf, King of Sweden, 1986
Félix Houphouët-Boigny, President of the Ivory Coast, 1963
Sabah Al-Salim Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, 1966
Luís Cabral 11, President of Guinea Bissau, 1976
Ahmed Sukarno, President of Indonesia, 1955
Ahmadou Ahidjo, President of Cameroon, 1962
Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union, 1964
Abdullah Al-Sallal, President of the Yemen Arab Republic, 1963
Paul of Greece, King of Greece, 1960
Alberto Lleras Camargo, President of Colombia, 1960
Mohammed Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan, 1960
Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh, 1977
Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, King of Saudi Arabia, 1965
Todor Zhivkov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria, 1965
Suleiman Frangieh, President of Lebanon, 1973
Léopold Sédar Senghor, President of Senegal, 1967
Konstantinos Karamanlis, President of the Hellenic Republic, 1984
Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi, 1971
Muammar Al-Gaddafi, Chairman of the Libyan Revolutionary Command Council, 1969
Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, President of Tunisia, 1990
Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of the Congo, 1987
