Male: On Saturday, the President of the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, described India as one of his “closest allies” and “invaluable partners”, underlining his administration’s “full commitment” to fostering the “historic and close connections” between the two neighbouring countries.
“India has always been one of the closest allies and invaluable partners, facilitating and providing aid whenever Maldives has needed it,” Muizzu acknowledged in External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar’s presence during a ceremony held at the President’s Office to handover the completed water supply and sewerage facilities on 28 islands in the Maldives, funded by the Government of India’s Line of Credit (LoC) facility through the Exim Bank of India.
Muizzu emphasised in his remarks that these projects represent important turning points in the Maldives’ bilateral relations with India and that they will have a major positive economic impact, strengthen local economies, and advance the prosperity of the country as a whole.
Additionally, he expressed “deep gratitude” to the Indian government, friendly Indians, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their “generous and continued assistance” to the Maldives.
“The President also emphasised that the High-Impact Community Development Projects under Indian Grant Assistance demonstrate both countries’ close engagement in socio-economic development. He went on to say that numerous revolutionary initiatives are now underway as part of this initiative and that the plan is to accelerate their delivery to communities. He also expressed appreciation for the flexibility offered in restructuring the line of credit arrangement,” the President’s office said in a statement following the ceremony.
In his closing remarks, Muizzu emphasised that the Maldives and India have a deep feeling of kinship, friendliness, and respect that has sustained their relationship for millennia.
“He further stated that Maldivians value the deep and historic ties with the Indian people and are committed to its preservation and enhancement,” the statement mentioned.
During his meeting with EAM Jaishankar, the Maldives President also recalled his recent visit to India to attend Prime Minister Modi’s swearing-in ceremony and expressed appreciation for the invitation and the opportunity to meet the Prime Minister and President Droupadi Murmu.
“Privileged to call on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. He conveyed the greetings of PM Narendra Modi. Committed to deepen India-Maldives ties for the benefit of our people and the region,” EAM Jaishankar posted after he met with Muizzu and the virtual inauguration of water and sanitation projects in 28 islands of Maldives.
Before this, Jaishankar and Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, the defence minister of the Maldives, had a bilateral discussion about enhancing their nations’ security cooperation.
The conversations centred on cooperative efforts to ensure marine safety and the common objective of preserving peace and stability in the area.
Together with the Maldives’ Minister of Climate Change, Environment, and Energy, Thoriq Ibrahim, and Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer, the EAM took part in a symbolic tree-planting event in Male’s Lonuziyaaraiy Park.
On Friday, immediately after he arrived from India, a ceremony was held at the Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs to mark the inauguration and handover of six projects implemented under the High Impact Community Development Projects facilitated under the Grant Assistance from India, as well as the exchange of a Memorandum of Understanding on the integrated payment system between the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Maldives, and the National Payments Corporation of India.
Additionally, the Civil Service Commission of the Maldives and the High Commission of India exchanged notes on renewing the MoU to train 1,000 civil service officers.
“I conveyed our sincere appreciation to the people and Government of India for their generous assistance in advancing the lives of Maldivian communities. I also reiterated our commitment to continue working closely with the Government of India, bilaterally, regionally and multilaterally, to strengthen further and deepen the bonds between our two countries,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs of Maldives Moosa Zameer.
Addressing the media, EAM Jaishankar highlighted the importance of the visit, his first to the strategically significant Indian Ocean archipelago since January 2023.
“The Maldives is one of the cornerstones of our ‘Neighborhood First’ policy, it is also one of our Vision SAGAR, as well as of our commitment to the Global South. To put it succinctly in the words of my Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for India, neighbourhood is a priority, and in the neighbourhood, Maldives is a priority,” he said.
He also underscored the common challenges faced by both nations and the importance of their defence and security cooperation.
“As neighbours, we face common challenges and have a shared interest in maintaining peace and security in the region. After all, we both have very big EEZs. Our defence and security cooperation is aimed at confronting many common challenges, and I look forward to fruitful discussions in that regard,” he said.
–IANS
