New Delhi, Nov 21 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with Guyana’s highest civilian honour, 'The Order of Excellence', by President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, for his visionary statesmanship, championing the rights of developing countries on the global stage, exceptional service to the global community and for his commitment to strengthening India-Guyana relations.

While accepting the award, PM Modi dedicated the honour to the people of India and the deep-rooted historical ties between the people of the two countries.

He emphasized that his state visit is a testament to India's continued commitment towards deepening India-Guyana friendship.

Prime Minister Modi is only the fourth foreign leader to be conferred with the highest National award of Guyana.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in a post on X said, "Another feather in the cap for India! President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali of Guyana conferred PM Narendra Modi with the highest national award of Guyana ‘The Order of Excellence’, for his exceptional service to the global community, statesmanship and contribution in deepening India-Guyana ties."

The ceremony was held at the State House in Georgetown, Guyana.

On this occasion, Guyana's President Mohamed Irfaan Ali said that technology, innovation and digitization must not be used to widen the gap between the countries and these advancements must be made to reduce the gap and poverty and bring the world closer together.

"India has been championing new technology innovation and PM Modi reminded us in CARICOM that you are a member of this CARICOM family. We want you to know we hold you as a member of this CARICOM family...," said the Guyana President.

Thanking the Guyana President for the honour, PM Modi said, "Sincerely thank President Dr. Irfaan Ali, for conferring upon me Guyana's highest honour, 'The Order of Excellence.' This is a recognition of the 140 crore people of India."

PM Modi said, "President Irfaan Ali contributed immensely to taking these relations to unprecedented heights...India is also ready to work shoulder-to-shoulder with Guyana. Our cooperation as two democracies is important for bilateral relations and also for the entire Global South."

"Guyana, blessed with numerous waterfalls and lakes is called 'The Land of Many Waters'... Just as the rivers of Guyana are a part of the cultural identity of the people here, rivers of India like the Ganga, Yamuna and Brahmaputra have been the birthplace of our ancient civilisation. There are many such examples of similarities between India and Guyana..."