External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, during his visit to the Maldives, signed pacts on health and education and discussed regional security and maritime safety issues with the Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid at the Addu City.

After the bilateral talks, Jaishankar said: “I had returned to the Maldives after more than a year, and we have witnessed fast-paced progress relationship between India and Maldives. Under PM Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, our partnership has witnessed and withstood the arc and anguish of the pandemic. We also had talks on bilateral partnerships and took stock of ongoing projects and initiatives in different sectors. We looked at socio-economic development, trade and investment, and tourism.”

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Calling the development partnership the central pillar of the relationship, he said: “It is a very transparent partnership, driven directly by Maldivian requirements and priorities. Today, this support ranges over $2.6 billion in grants, concessional loans, budgetary support and capacity building and training assistance.”