NEW DELHI: During his visit to Brazil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was presented with the Grand Collar of the National Order of the Southern Cross, the country’s highest civilian honour. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva conferred the award in a special ceremony held in Brasília. The award recognises PM Modi’s efforts to deepen ties between India and Brazil and build strong cooperation at international forums like BRICS, the G20, and the UN. The honour highlights the growing strategic and diplomatic partnership between the two countries, especially in areas like trade, climate action, technology, and South-South cooperation. With this, PM Modi has now received 26 top international honours from various foreign governments since becoming Prime Minister in May 2014.After being conferred the honour Prime Minister Modi said, “I would like to thank President Lula for the warm welcome. Today is a proud and emotional moment not just for me, but also for 140 crore Indians, as I have been conferred with Brazil’s highest civilian honour. I would like to express my gratitude towards him, the Government of Brazil, and the people of Brazil.”Prime Minister Narendra Modi was earlier welcomed with full state honours at the Alvorada Palace in Brasília on Tuesday as part of his official visit to Brazil following the Brics Summit. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva personally received PM Modi at the palace entrance. The two leaders exchanged a warm hug before the formal ceremony began. As part of the honours, PM Modi was given a ceremonial guard of honour, and the national anthems of both India and Brazil were played. A unique feature of the welcome was a special 114-horse ceremonial parade, marking the significance of the occasion.