New Delhi, Aug 8 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on a three-day official visit to the Maldives from tomorrow, in a visit aimed at strengthening the close partnership between the two countries and explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further.
The EAM’s visit follows the recent visit of the President of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu to India for the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his third term. EAM had previously visited Maldives in January 2023, a statement said.
Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour and an important partner in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy and our Vision ‘SAGAR’ i.e. Security and Growth for All in the Region.
The visit is aimed at strengthening the close partnership between the two countries and to explore avenues to enhance the bilateral relationship further, the statement added.
According to the Maldives Foreign Ministry, EAM is visiting Maldives at the invitation of Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer.
During this visit, Jaishankar will pay a courtesy call to President Muizzu and will hold official talks with Minister Zameer.
The Foreign Ministry said the purpose of the talks is to review the existing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Zameer and Jaishankar will also inaugurate the completed projects under the High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) and Line of Credit facility of EXIM Bank of India and witness the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on areas for capacity building, commerce and trade.
This is the first official visit by Jaishankar to the Maldives since assuming office for a second term in June 2024.
This is the first visit by a senior Indian official to Maldives since Muizzu took office. Former Indian Earth Science Minister Kiren Rijiju attended Muizzu’s swearing-in ceremony.
Jaishankar’s visit comes at a time when the two countries have started working on restoring ties after increased tensions during the early days of the People’s National Congress (PNC) government of Muizzu.
Jaishankar last visited Maldives in January 2023 to attend a special ceremony to start the practical work of the Hanimaadhoo airport development project which is being carried out with the assistance of the Indian government. Before that he had visited Maldives in August 2022.
