The Maldivian government will work to strengthen ties with neighbouring countries and ensure stability in the Indian Ocean region, a matter of utmost importance, says Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi.

At a ceremony held in capital city Malé to inaugurate the ‘Dhosti’ Coast Guard exercises, a bi-annual program held between the Maldives, India, and Sri Lanka, Minister Mariya said that maintaining said ties is a priority.

On Tuesday, the minister announced her departure to see the ‘Dhosti’ program’s exercises. Mariya took her oath of office to head the ministry on November 17th.

Speaking at Monday’s inauguration ceremony, Rear Admiral Smaantha Wimalathunga, the director general of Sri Lanka’s Coast Guard unit, said that her unit considers the exercise important to both officers and relations between nations in the region.

Indian Coast Guard’s Director General Rajendra Singha said that his office holds the program in high regard and that continuing such programs will be an important step in maintaining regional security and stability.

Maldives, Sri Lanka, and India share maritime borders. The maritime boundary between India and Maldives, essential to the latter’s economy, was agreed upon in 1976.