2019 has been a significant year for India-Maldives relations: PM Modi

This year has been a significant year for the India-Maldives relations, says Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This statement was made during a ceremony held at the President’s Office on Wednesday evening, which saw the exchange of four important agreements between the governments of Maldives and India through video conferencing.

Speaking to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih through video conference, the Indian PM said that Maldives is always in the hearts and minds of India, going on to congratulate Solih on the first anniversary of his term, marked on 17 November.

Highlighting that 2019 has been a landmark year for democracy and development in the Maldives, PM Modi said that India’s neighborhood first and Maldives’ India-first policy has made bilateral cooperation in all sectors much stronger.

Shedding light on the importance the Maldives government made for the development of southernmost Addu city, PM Modi added that India is “happy” to partner through high impact community development projects for supporting livelihood of the island communities.

Further, he touched on the key aspects of the close ties between India and Maldives, which he described to be people-to-people contact.

Additionally, the tourist figures from India have “more than doubled” in the Maldives, with India having moved to the second position from fifth, within the past few months. Three direct flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore began this week as well, said PM Modi.

The Indian PM went on to add that projects under the Indian grant assistance will bring “even more benefits” to the people and government, within the coming year.

He expressed India’s commitment to continue partnering with Maldives for development and democracy, as a close friend and maritime member.