Maldives Foreign Minister meets Jaishankar, seeks essential commodities supply from India

In a key development, Foreign Minister of Maldives Abdulla Shahid who is in New Delhi on a two-day trip, met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar today, April 16. In the meeting, which was their 8th meeting since November 2018 when the government under President Solih took office in the Maldives, S Jaishankar and Shahid discussed issues of mutual interests pertaining to bilateral, regional and international domains.

Shahid requested Jaishankar for renewal of DGFT notifications regarding assured supply of essential commodities to the Maldives from India as per the bilateral trade agreement, in reply to which Jaishankar assured that Indian commitment will be honoured. They reviewed the status of ongoing  India assisted projects in the Maldives. Currently, India is developing projects worth 2 billion dollars spanning across large infrastructure such as ports, roads, bridges, water and sanitation, as well as socio-economic development directly impacting the livelihoods of Maldivians. 

On the topic of tourism, Shahid and Jaishankar expressed satisfaction with the growing number of Indian tourists visiting the Maldives, which as per him was aiding Maldivian economy in these difficult times. Under the bilateral air bubble arrangement, India is already the number one tourist market for the Maldives with Indian tourists occupying 23% of international tourist arrivals in the Maldives.

Both Ministers also exchanged views on international organizations including UN, OIC, Commonwealth and SAARC and developments of common interest in the region.

S Jaishankar's visit to the Maldives 

Shahid's visit comes months after Jaishankar two-day visit to the Maldives. During his visit, he called on President Solih and held talks with other political leaders to review and strengthen the entire gamut of bilateral ties between the two counties, a step towards which was the signing of five pacts and an agreement to extend a 50 million dollars line of credit for Male's maritime. 

(CREDITS-TWITER@ABDULLA_SHAHID/AP)