Dr. Ajay Kumar, the Defence Secretary of India paid a courtesy call on Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Khaleel on Monday.

During the meeting held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Maldivian state minister welcomed Dr. Kumar to Maldives.

He went on to review the recent developments in the relationship between Maldives and India especially in the field of Defence and Security Cooperation.

Going on to highlight the endless contribution by the Indian government to enhance the capacity and readiness of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), State Minister Khaleel reaffirmed the commitment to further strengthen the strategic cooperation between both countries. This was reiterated by the Defence Secretary of India.

As such, the pair expressed commitment to strengthen the strategic cooperation between both countries especially in the efforts to ensure peace and security in the Indian Ocean region.

The meeting was joined by Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives.