India's External Affairs Minister concludes trip to Maldives

India's Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar concluded his official trip to the Maldives.

Dr. S. Jaishankar departed from Addu City on Sunday. Minister of External Affairs was seen off at Gan International Airport by Foreign Minister Shahid, Mayor of Addu City and senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During his visit, Dr. S. Jaishankar called on the President of Maldives Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and discussed existing bilateral cooperation and the close friendship between Maldives and India. 

The Minister also met with his counterpart, Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, where both Ministers reviewed the development cooperation projects. They discussed strengthening of cooperation in various avenues and held discussions regarding the projects currently undertaken under the grants and five Lines of Credit extended to the Government of Maldives, from the Government of India, through the Export Import Bank of India.

During the visit, India's External Affairs Minister inaugurated two projects undertaken in Addu City with the Indian grant assistance under the High Impact Community Development Projects scheme; “Vilunu” drug rehabilitation facility, and “Mulimathi” tourism zone.

India's Minister of External Affairs also attended the inauguration ceremony of the National College for Policing and Law Enforcement established in Addu City under the Indian Grant Assistance. After the Academy was jointly inaugurated by President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Minister Dr. Jaishankar, an MoU between Maldives Police Service and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad, was signed for Capacity Building and Areas of Cooperation.

The External Affairs Minister also attended the ceremony held for ground breaking of the Addu Development Project and contract awarding of Addu reclamation project, both of which are financed by Indian Line of Credit.

The External Affairs Minister along with Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid witnessed the signing of several key agreements such as, the reciprocal recognition of Covid-19 vaccination certificate which will facilitate easier travel between Maldives and India as well as the Peering Agreement for connectivity between the Higher Education Network of Maldives and the National Knowledge Network of India.

The official handover ceremony of the extended coastal radar system was also held during the visit.

The two sides also agreed to further intensify the cooperation and enhance Maldives-India partnership. This visit marked a significant milestone in strengthening the bilateral relations of two the countries.

He arrived in the Maldives on 26 March on a two-day trip.