PM Modi conferred the Speaker of the Knesset medal, the highest honour of Israel

Tel Aviv: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday was conferred the "Speaker of the Knesset" by the Israel Parliament. It is the highest honour of the Israel Parliament. PM Modi is the first Indian PM to have received the honour 

PM Modi was awarded the medal in recognition of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s exceptional contribution to strengthening strategic ties between India and Israel

Notably, in 2018, he was conferred the Grand Collar of the State of Palestine, the highest Palestinian award granted to foreign dignitaries.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday became the first Indian PM to address the Knesset 

With his address, PM Modi enters the list of world leaders who addressed the Knesset - several US presidents, including Donald Trump, late Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, and Argentine President Javier Milei.

Highlighting the strength of India-Israel relations and noting a personal coincidence, he said he “was born on the day India formally recognised Israel.”

"Nine years ago, I had the good fortune to be the first PM of India to visit Israel, and I'm very happy to be here again, returning to a land to which I always felt drawn. After all, I was born on the same day that India formally recognised Israel, September 17, 1950," he added. 

On Thursday, PM Modi will pay a visit to Yad Vashem at 12:15 pm, Israel’s official memorial, established in 1953, to commemorate the six million Jews killed by Nazis. PM Modi’s visit is expected to focus on bilateral ties between India and Israel.