In her budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said projects for port connectivity, tourism infra & amenities will be taken up on Indian islands including Lakshadweep.
In another sign of strained ties between Maldives & India, Chinese vessel previously intercepted by Indonesia for operating without broadcasting its position 'is set to dock at Malé on 8 Feb'.
The 13-yr-old had suffered a stroke. Maldivian opposition leaders are criticising President Muizzu for not using Dornier aircraft given by India, to airlift child to Malé.
The call for troops removal was made during External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar's meeting with his Maldivian counterpart Moosa Zameer, on the sidelines of 19th Non-Aligned Movement Thursday.
Maldives is among India’s key maritime neighbours & part of its ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’, but President Muizzu set a 15 March deadline for Indian military personnel to leave the island nation.
Removal of Indian navy, coast guard personnel was main political plank on which People's National Congress had fought presidential election in September.
On Sunday, an India-Maldives High Level Core Group met for talks in Male where the Indian troop withdrawal and the status of India-assisted project in the Maldives was discussed.
Mohamed Muizzu chose China for his first official foreign visit. He praised BRI and called for Beijing to reclaim its number one spot as the country sending most tourists to Maldives.
Safaath Ahmed, former spokesperson for Maldivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says 75 unarmed Indian military personnel deployed in Maldives were engaged in humanitarian work, rescue & medical ops.
Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI) and Maldives Association of Travel Agents & Tour Operators (MATATO) have issued statements emphasising importance of New Delhi-Malé ties.
Mini deal will likely see no cut in 10% baseline tariff on Indian exports announced by Trump on 2 April, it is learnt, but additional 26% tariffs are set to be reduced.
The Chinese are said to have hired ex-fighter pilots & air force operators from NATO countries over the past several years to help them fine-tune their operational & flying capabilities.
Public, loud, upfront, filled with impropriety and high praise sometimes laced with insults. This is what we call Trumplomacy. But the larger objective is the same: American supremacy.
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