Prime Minister Narendra Modi was awarded the Wisam Mubarak al-Kabeer, or the Order of Mubarak the Great, by Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Amir of Kuwait, on Sunday (December 22).
The Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer is the highest national award of Kuwait. Here’s what you should know about the award, and the significance of PM Modi receiving it.
What is the Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer?
The Order of Mubarak Al-Kabeer is conferred by the Kuwaiti government on Heads of State, Sovereigns of foreign countries, and on members of foreign royal families as a sign of friendship and goodwill.
Before PM Modi, recipients include Queen Elizabeth II of England, former American Presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton, King Salman of Saudi Arabia, former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, among others.
The award was instituted in 1974, in the memory of Mubarak Al Sabah — also known as Mubarak al-Kabeer or Mubarak the Great — who ruled Kuwait from 1896 to 1915. Under his reign, Kuwait got more autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. In 1899, Mubarak signed a deal with Britain to guard his kingdom from Turkey, effectively becoming a British protectorate. Mubarak is known for playing a major role in shaping the future of Kuwait.
The design of the award changed in 1992, after Kuwait was liberated from Iraq in the year before.
Significance of the award to PM Modi
PM Modi, after receiving the award, dedicated it to “the long-standing friendship between India and Kuwait, to the Indian community in Kuwait and to the 1.4 billion people of India.”
A press release from the Ministry of External Affairs said, “The conferment of the award on this historic visit of a Prime Minister of India to Kuwait after 43 years added a special meaning to the occasion.”
Before Modi, the last Indian PM to visit Kuwait was Indira Gandhi in 1981.
Kuwait is among the top trading partners of India, with bilateral trade valued at $10.47 billion in 2023-24. It is also India’s sixth largest crude supplier, meeting three per cent of the country’s energy needs. Indian exports to Kuwait reached $2 billion for the first time, while investments by the Kuwait Investment Authority in India exceed $10 billion.
India and Kuwait have enjoyed friendly relations, with links dating back to pre-oil Kuwait when maritime trade with India was the backbone of its economy. In fact, the Indian rupee remained legal tender in Kuwait until 1961.
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