Minister of Defence and National Security, Mariya Ahmed Didi has thanked the government of India for providing swift and unconditional support to the Maldives “at all times”.

She made this remark during a meeting with the Chief of Naval Staff of India General Admiral R. Hari Kumar on Tuesday.

As such, the meeting saw discussions revolving around ways to further enhance cooperation between the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and Indian Navy, particularly in the areas of maritime information sharing, maritime domain awareness, bilateral maritime agreements and capacity-building initiatives.

In a Twitter post, Minister Mariya noted that India and Maldives are indeed “united by the sea” and by common goals to maintain peace and stability in the Indian Ocean Region.

She went on to highlight that there is so much to gain by the collaboration between the two “sisterly” nations whose livelihoods are dependent on the ocean

Going on to state that the defence and security partnership between Maldives and India is at its pinnacle, Mariya expressed heartfelt gratitude to the government of India for always providing swift and unconditional support.

Expressing her gratitude to the Indian Navy for facilitating the transport of medicines and hospital consumables to Maldives during the Covid-19 pandemic, the minister also shed light on the swiftness with which India submitted the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the Coast Guard Harbor and Dockyard to Maldives, the review of which will be completed soon.

She went on to extend appreciation for the endless assistance and support offered by the Indian Navy in the maintenance and repairing efforts of MNDF Coast Guard fleet.

The meeting also saw the Maldivian minister expressing confidence that training and joint exercises such as ‘EKATHA’ will continue between MNDF and the Indian Navy.

This in turn will enhance existing positive relations and interoperability between the two neighbors.

The minister was accompanied by Director-General of National Counter Terrorism Center Brigadier General (Retired) Zakariyya Mansoor, Military Secretary BG Abdul Matheen Ahmed, Maldivian Defence Advisor to India COL Mohamed Ibrahim, DIDC’s Principal Director LTC Ahmed Shareef, LTC Hassan Bushry and Director of Anti-Human Trafficking Ali Jaishan Amir, during the meeting.