Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday announced $1.4 billion financial assistance to Maldives after he held extensive talks with President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih during which both sides vowed to deepen security cooperation in the Indian Ocean region, reported news agency PTI.
"President Solih and I agree that to maintain peace and security in the Indian Ocean region, we need to deepen our cooperation," Modi said while jointly addressing the media with Solih after the talks.
On his part, Solih said that during the discussions, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to democracy.
"We agreed on the mutual need for regional stability and security in the Indian Ocean," he said.
The Maldives President also said that both sides discussed cooperation in health, education and commerce among other areas.
Earlier in the day, Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and his wife, Fazna Ahmed, were given a ceremonial welcome at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, 17 December, a day after they reached Delhi on a three-day state visit, ANI reported.
Solih and wife, Fazna, receive a ceremonial welcome at Rashtrapati Bhavan)
(Photo: ANI)
Solih meets PM Modi at Delhi’s Hyderabad House.
(Photo: ANI)
Solih, who surprisingly defeated Maldivian strongman Abdulla Yameen in polls in September, arrived on his first foreign visit after assuming office and was received by Union minister Hardeep S Puri.
Solih and wife Fazna will visit the Taj Mahal on Tuesday, 18 December, before heading back to Maldives. Solih's visit comes about a month after Prime Minister Modi attended his swearing-in ceremony.
Modi had said in Maldives that he was looking forward to working closely with Solih and both the leaders expressed confidence in the renewal of the close ties and friendship between the two countries, which was briefly interrupted by political turmoil in the Indian Ocean island nation.
Relations between India and the Maldives deteriorated further after Yameen imposed emergency on 5 February 2018.
India had criticised his decision and asked his government to restore the credibility of the electoral and political process by releasing political prisoners. The emergency lasted for 45 days.
(With inputs from PTI)
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