Maldives and India have signed four agreements during President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s state visit to the country.
While Monday marks one month since the president was sworn in, he is currently in India on his maiden state visit since assuming office.
On Monday morning, President Solih met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, where both parties signed four vital agreements. They are:
- Agreement of facilitation of visa arrangements
- Memorandum of Understanding on cultural cooperation
- Memorandum of Understanding for establishing mutual cooperation to improve the ecosystem for agribusiness
- Joint Declaration of intent on cooperation in the field of information, and communication technology and electronics.
In addition, both sides have agreed to work together in five additional areas, “to create institutional linkages and to establish a framework of cooperation.” These are; health cooperation, mutual legal assistance or criminal matters, investment promotion, human resource development and tourism.
Both President Solih and PM Modi gave a joint statement following the meeting at the Hyderabad House.
The Indian prime minister, who attended Solih’s inauguration ceremony in November where he extended the invitation to visit India, had reiterated the “highest importance that India attaches to its relationship with the Maldives,” while President Solih expressed his government’s commitment “to working together closely with India.”
While PM Modi also announced India’s decision to provide financial assistance up to USD 1.4 billion in the form of “budgetary support, currency swap and concessional lines of credit to fulfil socio-economic development programmes” to Maldives, the president thanked the government of India for the “generous assistance.”
President Solih also invited both the Prime Minister and President Ram Nath Kovind to make state visits to the Maldives, which the former has already accepted.
While he arrived in India on Sunday, President Solih was officially welcomed by the president and PM on Monday morning.
He is expected to meet with President Kovind later on Monday.
