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India-Maldives to sign multiple deals during FS visit

Mariyam Malsa
08 November 2020, MVT 13:43
Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringala. PHOTO: THE HINDU
Mariyam Malsa
08 November 2020, MVT 13:43

The High Commission of India, on Sunday, revealed that Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla would sign multiple agreements during his upcoming official visit to Maldives from November 8 to 10.

According to the Indian High Commission, the agreements include a USD 100 million grant to partially finance the Greater Male’ Connectivity Project (GMCP) as well as two Memoranda of Agreement to execute high-impact community development projects (HICDPs) in Maldives.

Secretary Shringla is also scheduled to join a ceremony to hand over equipment to establish children’s parks across 67 islands across Maldives and visit the site of Ekuveni running track in the capital city of Male’, which was funded through Indian grant assistance.

Marking the first high-level bilateral visit from India to Maldives in 2020, the Indian Foreign Secretary will meet President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and several cabinet ministers during the trip. He will also conduct discussions concerning the state of bilateral relations with his counterpart in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The upcoming trip is a response to an invitation from Maldivian Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed and will be Secretary Shringla's first visit to Maldives since assuming office on January 29.

Harsha Vardhan Shringla is the 33rd Foreign Secretary of India.

Noting that the diplomatic ties between India and Maldives were rooted in history and shared democratic values, the Indian High Commission stated that Foreign Secretary Shringla's visit would demonstrate the significance of the bilateral relationship as well as the reciprocity between India's Neighbourhood First policy and Maldives' 'India First' policy.

The High Commission went on to state that the upcoming trip would strengthen Maldives and India's mutual desire to cooperate in ensuring the stability and prosperity of the Indian Ocean region.

Highlighting that bilateral cooperation had progressed at a rapid rate following the inauguration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in November 2018, the High Commission mentioned that eight large scale infrastructure projects were initiated in Maldives under the USD 1.2 billion lines of credit extended by India.

Since November 2018, India has provided financial assistance to Maldives through budget support grants of USD 50 million, T-Bill subscription of USD 150 million and currency swap arrangements between central banks worth USD 400 million. Additionally, India has extended a grant of USD 13 million to implement 30 high-impact community projects across the archipelago.

Furthermore, the High Commission noted India's swift and substantial support to the Maldivian government in mitigating the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In September, USD 250 million assistance was provided to the Maldives as budgetary and revenue support.

India’s COVID-19 mitigation support also included donations of medicines and food-aid, the evacuation of stranded Maldivians from Wuhan, dispatching a special COVID-19 relief team, exemptions from export restrictions of medical consumables and emergency breathing apparatus, maintenance of essential food supplies despite trade disruptions and a special exemption for Maldivian patients to travel to India despite the restrictions.

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