India’s Foreign Secretary arrives in Maldives

India’s Foreign Secretary, Shri Harsh Vardhan Shringla has arrived in the Maldives on his first official visit to the country since assuming office.

Shringla’s visit from November 8 – 10 is the first high-level bilateral visit from India to the Maldives this concluding year and is part of the regular high-level exchanges between both countries, revealed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Indian Foreign Secretary arrived in Maldives on Sunday evening, close to 4pm and was welcomed by Joint Secretary Mariyam Midhfa Naeem.

He arrived upon the official invitation of the Maldives Foreign Secretary, Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed.

Shringla will be paying courtesy calls on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, Speaker of Parliament and Former President Mohamed Nasheed, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer, Minister of Economic Development Fayyaz Ismail, Minister of National Planning, Housing and Infrastructure Mohamed Aslam as well as the Minister of Tourism, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom during his visit.

The foreign secretary will engage in discussions regarding the state of bilateral relations with FM Shahid as well.

The ministry expects Shringla to sign a USD 100 million Grant Agreement with the Maldives government for part-financing the Greater Malé Connectivity Project as well as two Memorandums of Understanding to execute High-Impact Community Development Projects in the island nation, during the visit.

He will also be attending a ceremony to handover the equipment for setting up Children’s Parks across 67 islands of the Maldives alongside visiting the site of ‘Ekuveni’ running track in Malé funded through Indian grant assistance.

Followed by the India's “neighborhood first” policy Maldives places high regard in its “India first” policy which has been manifested by the pace at which bilateral cooperation has progressed since Solih assumed office in November 2018.

Under the USD 1.2 billion Line of Credit offered by the Indian government, eight major infrastructure projects have been taken up and since November 2018, India has extended financial assistance through budget support grants of USD 50 million, T-Bill subscription of USD 150 million and currency swap arrangements between central banks worth USD 400 million.

India has also extended a grant of USD 13 million to implement around 30 high-impact community projects across the scatter of Maldives islands.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic surfaced in the island nation on March 7, India has provided substantial and swift assistance in the government’s response efforts and post-covid economy recovery.

USD 250 million assistance was provided to the Maldives in September 2020 as budgetary and revenue support after an announcement made during a virtual meeting between FM Shahid and India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar.

India’s Covid-19 mitigation support include consignments of medicines, food aid, evacuation of Maldivians stranded in Wuhan City of China, sending a special Covid-19 relief team, exemptions from export restrictions of medical consumables and testing as well as emergency breathing apparatus, maintenance of essential food supplies despite trade disruptions, and a special carve-out for Maldivian patients to travel to India despite the restrictions. Thus far, 1,050 Maldivian patients and their caretakers have flown to the neighboring country under these eased measures.

The bilateral partnership between both countries is based on bonds of history, as well as shared values of democracy and the rule of law.

Shringla’s visit will mirror the importance of the modern and dynamic partnership between both countries and the complementarities essential in the “neighborhood first” policy, and the “India first” policy followed by the Maldives.

The ministry noted that his visit will enhance mutual wish to work together for the security and stability of the waters and, for the prosperity of the Indian Ocean region. It is also expected to reinforce India’s commitment to expand and deepen the partnership enjoyed with Maldives.