AKIPRESS.COM - Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash, on Sunday, the second and final day of his visit to the Gulf kingdom, reports NDTV.

"In a special gesture, PM Narendra Modi was conferred Saudi Arabia's highest civilian honour, the King Abdulaziz Sash," external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

The honour is named after founder of the modern Saudi state, Abdulaziz Al Saud.

Among other notable recipients of this honour are US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the TCS BPO centre in Riyadh. The centre is a perfect example of acting globally while being committed locally.

At the TCS centre, 1000 women work in BPO operations, 85% of whom are Saudi Nationals. PM Modi said, "All of you must come to India, I assure you a very warm reception. The atmosphere I am witnessing here today has the potential to give a strong message to the world. I am meeting those professionals who are now the pride of Saudi Arabia."

PM Modi marked his presence on the message board at the TCS centre. He also spent some time interacting with the employees at the all women IT centre.