MEA Secretary Sanjay Verma calls on Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid

Male [Maldives]: Secretary (West) Ministry of External Affairs, Sanjay Verma called on the Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid and discussed on enhancing the partnership between the two nations in the fight against terrorism.

Taking to Twitter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Maldives wrote, “Secretary, H.E. @SanjayVermalFS calls on Foreign Minister H.E. @abdulla_shahid, today. Discussed on enhancing partnership between #Maldives and #India in the fight against terrorism reflecting on the Joint Working Group meeting held yesterday. @MEAIndia”

 

The two sides held talks during the Joint Working Group meeting held on Monday (July 24) in Male.

India and Maldives co-chaired the second Joint Working Group meeting on Counter-Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-radicalisation.

Sanjay Verma represented New Delhi and participated at the event along with Maldives Foreign Secretary MV Ahmed Latheef.

“Co-chaired 2nd #India-#Maldives JWG on Counter-Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-radicalisation at @MoFAmvtoday with H.E. @ForeignSecMVAhmed Latheef. Capacity building, information sharing and cooperation on global forums is the path ahead. @MEAIndia @HCIMaldives,” the MEA official said in a tweet.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, the meeting was held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere that symbolises the time-tested and good neighbourly ties between Maldives and India, and the energy, ambition and scale acquired by our bilateral relations under the leadership of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Maldives and India strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations including cross-border terrorism.

Emphasising the need for strengthening international cooperation to combat terrorism in a comprehensive and sustained manner both countries reaffirmed counter-terrorism cooperation as an important aspect of maintaining security in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Both sides also reviewed threats posed by terrorist entities that are under UN sanctions and emphasised the need for concerted action against all terrorist networks.