Defence Secretary holds talks with Maldives to enhance ties; reiterates India's commitment

Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar held a meeting with Maldives Defence Minister Mariya Didi on Sunday, February 13. Dr Kumar thanked Mariya Didi for her support in bolstering defence ties between India and Maldives, ANI cited the Ministry of Defence. The meeting between Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and Maldives Defence Minister Mariya Didi was held at the Ministry of Defence in Mali.

During the meeting, the discussions between both sides focused on enhanced defence cooperation between India and Maldives in the past three years, the Maldives Ministry of Defence said in a statement as per ANI. Dr Ajay Kumar highlighted the commitment of the government of India to bolster the partnership between India and Maldives. Maldives Defence Minister Mariya Didi thanked India for the assistance provided to them during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mariya Didi thanks India for assistance provided during the COVID-19 pandemic

Mariya Didi thanked India for providing vaccine shipments, medical supplies, food supplies transportation, humanitarian assistance and technical help to Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) with over 170 medical evacuations and 130 surveillance missions that have been conducted in the past few years.

She appreciated the Coast Guard Dockyard Project, which is a defence infrastructure project carried out in the Maldives. For the meeting, the Maldives Defence Minister was joined by Military Secretary BG Abdul Matheen Ahmed, Director of Anti-Human Trafficking Ali Jaishan Amir, DIDC's Principal Director LTC Ahmed Shareef and MNDF Surgeon General COL Dr Ali Shahid Mohamed.

EAM Dr S Jaishankar held talks with Maldives counterpart Abdulla Shahid 

Earlier in January, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar held talks with Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid. Jaishankar took to Twitter to share the details regarding the talks held between India and Maldives. During the talks, External Affairs Minister recognized the "great progress" in bilateral cooperation between the two sides and also extended new year greetings to the people and government of Maldives.

Dr S Jaishankar tweeted, "Recognized the great progress in bilateral cooperation in my talk with FM @abdulla_shahid. Its mutual benefits are very visible. Conveyed my New Year’s greetings to the people and Government of Maldives."

Inputs from ANI

Image: ANI