India inks 6 pacts with Maldives
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Tuesday reviewed the progress in bilateral ties between the two nations.
Sharing photos of the meeting in Hyderabad House, Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Arindam Bagchi said the two leaders also "discussed ways to further deepen the special partnership".
After holding talks with the visiting Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Threat of crime, terrorism and drug trafficking is serious in the Indian Ocean and close India-Maldives ties were important for peace in the entire region." In a joint press statement, Solih said, "This visit is a confirmation of close ties between the two nations." India and the Maldives on Tuesday signed six pacts in the field of cyber security, capacity building, housing, disaster management and infrastructure development.
Solih, who arrived in the national capital on Monday on a four-day visit to the country, also met External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar. After their meeting on Monday evening, Jaishankar tweeted: "Our Neighbourhood First and Maldives' India First policies are complementary. They take our special partnership forward."
Solih's last official visit to India came in December 2018, which was also his first foreign tour since taking office earlier that year. During the 2018 visit, New Delhi announced a financial assistance package of $ 1.4 billion and also offered an additional 1,000 scholarships over the next 5 years. Even Prime Minister Modi had chosen Maldives for his first foreign tour after being re-elected in 2019.
Solih also paid an informal visit to Bengaluru in 2019 to discuss capacity building framework and the training of the Maldivian cricket team. (IANS)
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