New Delhi, Jan 8 (PTI) India on Wednesday conveyed to the Maldives its readiness to support the island nation in enhancing its defence preparedness as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held “fruitful” talks with his Maldivian counterpart Mohammed Ghassan Maumoon focusing on maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean.
In a post on X, Singh said the discussions will add “new vigour” to India-Maldives relations.
The two defence ministers “reasserted” their firm commitment to work closely in realising the joint vision for India-Maldives comprehensive economic and maritime security partnership, according to an Indian readout.
Maumoon is on a three-day visit to India, nearly eight months after New Delhi completed pulling out its military personnel from the Maldives following a demand by its pro-China President Mohamed Muizzu.
The overall episode had significantly frayed the ties between the two nations. However, there was a thaw in the relations following Muizzu’s visit to Delhi in October.
Maumoon appreciated India’s historical role as the ‘First Responder’ for the Maldives, and thanked New Delhi for assisting Male in augmenting the modern infrastructural capacities and training of defence and security personnel, the defence ministry said in the readout.
“On the government of Maldives’ request, India handed over defence equipment and stores to the Maldives,” it said.
In his post, Singh described his talks with Maumoon as “fruitful”.
“Several issues pertaining to deepening defence cooperation were discussed which would also help in enhancing the capability of Maldives National Defence Forces. Today’s discussions will add new vigour to India-Maldives relations,” he said.
The defence ministry said Singh and Maumoon comprehensively reviewed various aspects of bilateral defence and security cooperation.
“During the talks, both sides reasserted the firm commitment to work closely in realising the joint vision for India-Maldives Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership,” it said.
Singh “reaffirmed” India’s readiness to support the Maldives in capability enhancement for defence preparedness, including provisioning of defence platforms and assets to augment its capacities, as per its national priorities and in line with New Delhi’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and the vision of SAGAR, the ministry said.
SAGAR stands for Security And Growth for All in the Region.
Maumoon’s visit has provided an opportunity to further deepen the bilateral defence and security ties for the mutual benefit of the two countries and the Indian Ocean Region, the ministry said.
The Maldivian defence minister will also visit Goa and Mumbai.
His 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 that New Delhi has always stood by the island nation.
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. PTI MPB ZMN
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