Modi Ends 5-Nation Tour With Indian Arts Gifts to World Leaders

Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a five-nation diplomatic tour by presenting a series of carefully selected gifts to world leaders, highlighting India's regional arts and crafts. The tour, which covered the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Italy, concluded on May 20.

The gifts were drawn from diverse Indian states and artisanal traditions. For Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the gifts included a Muga silk stole from Assam, known as the region's "golden silk," and a Shirui Lily silk stole inspired by a rare flower found only in Manipur. Italian President Sergio Mattarella received a marble inlay work box, a craft historically linked to both Florence and Mughal-era India, along with CDs of music by classical vocalists Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Other leaders received similarly curated items. UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan was gifted a Rogan painting from Gujarat featuring a Tree of Life motif, along with Kesar mangoes and Meghalaya pineapples. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten received a Madhubani painting with a fish motif, while King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands was given blue pottery from Jaipur.