President Murmu becomes first Indian to receive Suriname's Highest Civilian Award

President Droupadi Murmu has been conferred with Suriname's highest distinction, "Grand Order of the Chain of the Yellow Star". The Indian President was presented the award by her Suriname counterpart Chandrikapersad Santokhion on Monday, June 5. Notably, President Murmu becomes the first Indian to receive this award.

President Murmu will be in Suriname on a state visit till June 6. Notably, this is President Murmu’s first state visit since assuming office in July 2022. 

Informing about the same, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi took to Twitter and wrote, “An honour reflective of the deep-rooted ties! President Droupadi Murmu conferred with the 'Grand Order of the Chain of the Yellow Star', the highest civilian award of Suriname by President Chandrikapersad Santokhion.

Soon after receiving the honour, President Murmu said, “I am greatly honoured to receive Suriname's highest distinction, Grand Order of the Chain of the Yellow Star.” 

“This recognition holds tremendous significance, not only for me but also for the 1.4 billion people of India whom I represent. I also dedicate this honour to the successive generations of the Indian-Surinamese community, who have played a stellar role in enriching the fraternal ties between our two countries,” she added. 

President Murmu joins celebrations marking 150th anniversary of arrival of Indians in Suriname

The President’s office informed that she was also presented special covers of stamps in order to mark 150 years of the arrival of Indians in Suriname. “The President symbolically presented a box of medicines to President Santokhi as a token of India’s donation of emergency medicines to Suriname,” her office said in a tweet.

Special covers of stamps to mark 150 years of arrival of Indians in Suriname were presented to President Droupadi Murmu on the occasion. The President symbolically presented a box of medicines to President @CSantokhi as a token of India's donation of emergency medicines to… pic.twitter.com/lOxavE8mNa

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn)

During the president’s visit, President Murmu held a delegation-level talks with President Santokhi and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation in several areas including defence, IT and capacity building as the two sides exchanged four MoUs in relating to health and agricultural sector.