India looks forward to deepening its partnership with the Maldives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday, as he met prominent Maldivian leaders, including Vice President Uz Hussain Mohamed.
PM Modi is in the Maldives on a two-day visit.
His discussions with Latheef touched upon key pillars of the India-Maldives ties.
“Our nations continue to work closely in sectors like infrastructure, technology, climate change, energy and more. This is greatly beneficial to our people. We look forward to deepening this partnership in the years to come,” PM Modi posted on X.
He also met Abdul Raheem Abdulla, Speaker of the People`s Majlis (the Maldivian Parliament).
“Talked about the deep-rooted India-Maldives friendship, including the close relationship between our respective Parliaments,” PM Modi said.
He also welcomed the formation of the India-Maldives Parliamentary Friendship Group in the 20th Majlis.
“India remains committed to supporting capacity building in the Maldives,” the prime minister said.
He also met former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed.
“He (Nasheed) has always been a strong advocate of a deeper India-Maldives friendship. Spoke about how the Maldives will always be a valued pillar of our `Neighbourhood First` policy and Mahasagar vision,” he said.
Nasheed served as president of the Maldives from November 11, 2008 to February 7, 2012.
India will keep supporting the Maldives through capacity building and developmental cooperation, the prime minister said.
On Friday, PM Modi held wide-ranging talks with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and announced a Rs 4,850 crore line of credit to the island nation.
India and the Maldives on Friday exchanged eight key agreements covering a wide range of sectors, including Line of Credit, debt repayment, fisheries, digital transformation, and Unified Payments Interface (UPI), in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu.
“Delighted to exchange eight Agreements related to Line of Credit, debt repayment, FTA, fisheries & aquaculture, digital transformation, pharmacopoeia and UPI in the presence of PM @narendramodi and President @MMuizzu today in Male,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar posted on X.
Confirming the development, the President`s Office of the Maldives stated, “President witnesses exchange of key MoUs and agreements between the Maldives and India.”