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Rajnath Singh reaffirms India's support to Maldives to boost defence preparedness
On the Mohamed Muizzu government's request, India handed over defence equipment and stores to the Maldives.
Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday held bilateral discussions with his Maldivian counterpart Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon in the capital. He comprehensively reviewed various aspects of bilateral defence & security cooperation, the government said in a statement.
During the talks, both sides reasserted the firm commitment to work closely in realising the joint vision for the India-Maldives Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership, the statement added.
The defence minister reaffirmed India’s readiness to support the Maldives in capability enhancement for defence preparedness, including provisioning of defence platforms & assets to augment its capacities, as per its national priorities and in line with New Delhi’s ‘Neighborhood First’ policy and the vision of SAGAR (Security And Growth for All in the Region).
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“India will continue to support the Maldives and the Maldives National Defence Force in their capacity-building efforts through projects, equipment and training. As a trusted partner and a close friend, I assure you that India will continue to support Maldives on its development needs and welfare of its people,” ANI quoted Singh as saying.
On the other hand, the Maldivian minister hailed India's role as the 'First Responder’ for the Maldives, thanking New Delhi for assisting Male in augmenting the modern infrastructural capacities and training of defence & security personnel.
On the Mohamed Muizzu government's request, India handed over defence equipment and stores to the Maldives.
Maumoon's visit comes days after Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Khaleel visited India and held wide-ranging talks with external affairs minister S Jaishankar. In the meeting held on January 3, Jaishankar described the Maldives as a "very concrete" expression of India's neighbourhood first policy and said that New Delhi has always stood by the island nation.
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Muizzu demanded withdrawal of Indian forces from Maldives
The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain after Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office in November 2023. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. Subsequently, the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians.
There was a thaw in the relations as Muizzu vowed to boost the bilateral ties with India during his visit to Delhi in October.
(With PTI, ANI inputs)
