Your Majesty the King of Bahrain,

I feel very honoured and fortunate to be awarded The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance. I am equally honoured by Your Majesty’s friendship for me and for my country.

I humbly accept this prestigious honour on behalf of 1.3 billion Indians. It is an honour for entire India. This is a recognition of the close and friendly relations between the Kingdom of Bahrain and India. These relations go back thousands of years.

And in the 21st century, they are expanding in all areas. It is a matter of happiness that in our discussions today, we agreed to add new areas of cooperation and further strengthen our ties.

We aim to make India a $ 5 trillion economy. We would like Bahrain to partner India more closely for shared progress.

I am very happy to note that the Indian origin people are the largest foreign community in Bahrain. They are welcomed here with open heart.

I thank the leadership of the Kingdom for looking after them and making them feel at home here. I consider myself very fortunate to be the first ever Indian Prime Minister to visit this close friend in our neighbourhood.

I am grateful to the leadership of Bahrain for their generous hospitality for my delegation and me.It will be an honour for me to receive His Majesty in India on a visit.

Thank you.

*****

DS/LP