India Ready To Support Maldives in Capability Enhancement: Minister Rajnath Singh

 New Delhi: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday conveyed India’s readiness to support the Maldives in capability enhancement for defence preparedness, including the provisioning of defence platforms and assets to augment its capacities, as per its national priorities and in line with New Delhi’s "neighbourhood first" policy and the vision of Sagar (Security And Growth for All in the Region).

Mr Singh on Wednesday held a bilateral meeting with the visiting defence minister of Maldives Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon in New Delhi. The two defence ministers reviewed various aspects of bilateral defence and security cooperation.

During the talks, both sides reasserted their firm commitment to work closely in realising the joint vision for the India-Maldives comprehensive economic and maritime security partnership.

India handed over defence equipment and stores to the Maldives at its request. "Raksha Mantri reaffirmed India’s readiness to support the Maldives in capability enhancement for defence preparedness, including the provisioning of defence platforms and assets to augment its capacities," said the defence ministry in a statement.

The Maldivian defence minister appreciated India’s historical role as the "first responder" for the Maldives and thanked New Delhi for assisting Male in augmenting the modern infrastructural capacities and training of defence and security personnel.

Mr Maumoon is on his first official visit to India. The visit is part of continued high-level engagements between the two sides. It has provided an opportunity to further deepen the bilateral defence and security ties for the mutual benefit of the two countries and the Indian Ocean Region, said the defence ministry.

The visit by the Maldivian defence minister comes over eight months after India withdrew its military personnel from the island nation following a demand by its "pro-China" President Mohamed Muizzu.

The ties between the two nations nosedive after Mr Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge of the top office in November 2023. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. Subsequently, the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians.

However, there is a thaw in relations as Mr Muizzu vowed to boost bilateral ties with India during his visit to Delhi in October.