Jaishankar meets his Maldivian counterpart Abdullah Shahid to discuss bilateral issues

New Delhi [India]: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, on Tuesday, met his Maldivian counterpart, Abdullah Shahid for discussions on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Jaishankar said, “A warm welcome to FM @abdulla_shahid of Maldives. The India-Maldives special partnership grows deeper by the day.”

Maldives’ Foreign Minister is also expected to deliver the 43rd Sapru House Lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in New Delhi.

Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and occupies a special place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.

“The Maldives Foreign Minister’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,” the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official release.

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.

India and Maldives’ relationship is not limited to political affairs but also they have a strong military alliance. Recently, India and Maldives held a Joint Exercise Ekuverin concluded after intense validation training.’

Taking to Twitter, the Additional Directorate General of Public Information of the Indian Army said, “The exercise has strengthened mutual confidence and enabled sharing of best practices.”

The 12th edition of the joint military exercise “Ex Ekuverin” between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force has taken place at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand from 11 to 24 June 2023, reported the Ministry of Defence.

Ekuverin meaning ‘Friends’ is a bilateral annual exercise conducted alternatively in India and Maldives.

A platoon strength contingent from Indian Army and Maldives National Defence Force has participated in a 14-day long exercise.

The exercise aimed at enhancing interoperability in Counter Insurgency/ Counter Terrorism Operations under the UN mandate and carrying out joint Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief operations.

The focus was to share best practices and enhance coordination and cooperation between both the forces at tactical level, according to the Ministry of Defence.