India has always been first responder for Maldives: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after a bilateral meeting with Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, announced that the two countries will collaborate on several projects in the future.
Muizzu who arrived in India on Sunday on a five-day visit was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan earlier in the day.
President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the Maldivian President and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed as they arrived at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
On Sunday, Muizzu upon his arrival was welcomed by Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Kiriti Vardhan Singh. Muizzu is visiting India on an official invitation by President Droupadi Murmu.
President Muizzu will also visit Mumbai and Bengaluru where he would be attending business events.
Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbor in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a special place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.
The visit of President Muizzu to India after the recent visit of the External Affairs Minister to the Maldives is testimony to the importance that India attaches to its relations with the Maldives and is expected to lend further momentum to cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries.