During his visit to the Indian capital, Shahid and Jaishankar will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest …reports Asian Lite News
Keeping with the tradition of high-level exchanges from both sides, Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid arrived in India on Monday on an official visit at the invitation of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and occupies a special place in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of SAGAR or ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ and the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.
During his visit to the Indian capital, Shahid and Jaishankar will hold discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest and will also be witness to exchange of project development agreements under Indian grant assistance.
The visiting foreign minister will also deliver the 43rd Sapru House Lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in New Delhi.
“Look forward to continuing our discussions on enhancing the Maldives-India partnership,” Shahid tweeted before leaving for New Delhi on Monday.
“Foreign Minister Shahid’s visit is in continuation of the series of high level visits from both sides and is expected to lend further momentum to the substantive bilateral cooperation between the two countries,” said a statment from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
Abdullah Shahid said in a tweet that his visit is in keeping with the tradition of high-level exchanges between Maldives and India.
“Keeping with the tradition of high-level exchanges between #Maldives and #India, I am departing to New Delhi on an Official Visit at the invitation of EAM @DrSJaishankar. Look forward to continuing our discussions on enhancing the #MaldivesIndiaPartnership,” Shahid tweeted.
Last month, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Abdulla Shahid attended the ceremony for the exchange of 10 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) between India and Maldives in Male.
Muraleedharan noted that MoUs will facilitate the implementation of development projects in areas like arts, sports, education and health under India’s grant assistance.