India Foreign Secretary's Visit to Maldives Highlights Close Cooperation and Bilateral Ties
9 November 2020
Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary of the Government of India, met with Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and paid a courtesy call to Mr. Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Government of Maldives in his first official visit to the country. Mr. Shringla was invited by his counterpart, Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, Foreign Secretary of the Government of Maldives.
In his meeting with President Solih, Mr. Shringla updated the President about the satisfactory status of implementation of decisions undertaken during the interactions between India Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldives President Solih in December 2018 and June 2019. Their meeting also highlighted progress made on eight large infrastructure projects in Maldives being implemented under Lines of Credit from India.
In his meeting with the Foreign Minister Shahid, Indian Foreign Secretary Shringla and Maldives Foreign Minister Shahid underscored the long-standing bilateral ties between the two countries, and talked about the recovery efforts they have undertaken in response to the global pandemic. Foreign Minister Shahid expressed his gratitude for India’s swift assistance to Maldives, which has helped the country manage the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) health crisis. Mr. Shringla noted to Mr. Shahid that Maldives will be a priority for the COVID-19 vaccine developed by India.
In the meeting between Mr. Shringla and his counterpart Mr. Mohamed, they discussed respective national approaches to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Mr. Shringla witnessed the signing of four memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with the Government of Maldives, which include:
- $100 million grant from the Government of India for the Greater Malé Connectivity Project. This project is considered the largest development project carried out in Maldives. It will connect the capital Malé with Villimalé, Thilafushi, and the Gulhi Falhu International Port through bridges and causeways spanning around 6.7 kilometers. India is providing $500 million financing for the project with $400 million under a Line of Credit;
- Cooperation in sports and youth affairs; and
- Financing for two projects under the High Impact Community Development Scheme.
Mr. Shringla also met with Mr. Abdulla Mausoom, Minister of Tourism of the Government of Maldives. He lauded Maldives' successful efforts in tourism, which have led to increase in tourist arrivals to Maldives. He also expressed satisfaction over the visa free agreement signed by India and Maldives in March 2019 and the bilateral air travel bubble established by India and Maldives in August 2020. Under the travel bubble, five cities in India are connected to Malé through 13 weekly flights.
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