India EAM meets with home minister

Indian External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj met with Home Minister Imran Abdulla on Monday morning.

In a tweet sent out, spokesperson at the Indian ministry, Raveesh Kumar, said that both parties had discussed "steps to continue the upward trajectory in our bilateral relationship."

While the Indian minister is in the Maldives on a two-day official trip, she will meet with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih before concluding the trip on Monday afternoon.

Swaraj arrived in the Maldives on Sunday afternoon upon the invitation of Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, who welcomed her at Velana International Airport.

Shortly after her arrival, a joint ministerial meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where discussions were held on ways "to enhance cooperation bilaterally on a variety of issues, including consular issues, capacity development, health cooperation, trade, investment and economic cooperation."

This was followed by a one-on-one meeting with the foreign minister.

Minister Swaraj also met with parliament Speaker Qasim Ibrahim on Sunday night, at the People's Majlis, and later visited Indhira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH)- gifted by the Indian government in 1995- where she unveiled a plaque dedicating the renovated hospital to the Maldivian people.

Kumar, via twitter, said that this shows India's "commitment" to the people of Maldives.

Swaraj is the first foreign minister to visit the archipelago nation since Shahid assumed office in November 2018, and a special dinner was held in her honour on Sunday night.

Both Maldives and India have said that the minister's visit will further "strengthen" the bilateral ties between both nations.