PRIME Minister Narendra Modi was on Sunday conferred with the ‘Order of the Nile’, Egypt’s highest honour, by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi here. Instituted in 1915, the ‘Order of the Nile’ is conferred upon heads of states, crown princes, and Vice Presidents who offer Egypt or humanity invaluable services. This is the 13th highest state honour conferred upon Prime Minister Modi. The ‘Order of the Nile’ is a pure gold collar consisting of three-square gold units comprising Pharaonic symbols. The first unit resembles the idea of protecting the state against the evils, the second one resembles prosperity and happiness brought by the Nile and the third one refers to wealth and endurance. The three units are connected to one another by a circular gold flower decorated with turquoise and ruby.

 

Hanging from the collar is a hexagonal pendant decorated with flowers of the Pharaonic style, and turquoise and ruby gems. In the middle of the pendant, there is a protruding symbol representing the Nile that brings together the North (represented by the Papyrus) and the South (represented by the Lotus). Over the past nine years, the Prime Minister has been conferred the Companion of the Order of Logohu, the highest civilian award of Papua New Guinea; the Companion of the Order of Fiji; the Ebakl Award by the Republic of Palau; the Order of the Druk Gyalp, the highest civilian decoration by Bhutan.