External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday handed over the holy relics of 17th century Queen St. Ketevan to the Georgian government.
EAM who is a on a two day official visit to Georgia gifted one part of the holy relic in a ceremony held in the presence of His Holiness and Beatitude, Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia, and the PM of Georgia Irakli Garibashvili.
Jaishankar took to Twitter to share the news and called it an emotional moment.
The Foreign Ministry in its statement said that India had taken into consideration the persistent request from the Georgian side for the permanent transfer of holy relics and believes that this will strengthen the bond of friendship between the two nations.
Queen St Ketevan was a 17th century Georgian Queen, who attained martyrdom. Her relics were found in 2005 at the St Augustine convent in Old Goa.