Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, April 30: As part of India’s “gift” to the Maldives on his visit to the island nation from May 1 to 3, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will deliver a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the Maldives.
The Maldives is one of India’s most important maritime neighbours, and the defence ministry made this statement on Sunday, one day before Singh was scheduled to visit there.
According to the statement, Singh’s visit will mark an “important milestone” in forging close ties of friendship between the two nations.
Singh will meet with the President of the Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and have conversations with the Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid, and the Defence Minister, Mariya Didi, during his visit.
“In tune with India’s commitment to capacity building of friendly countries and partners in the region, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will gift one fast patrol vessel ship and a landing craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces,” the ministry said in a statement.
Regarding Singh’s discussions with the Maldivian defence and foreign ministers, it was stated that a full review of defence relations between the two nations would take place.
One of India’s most important maritime neighbours is the Maldives, and in recent years, bilateral ties between the two countries have improved overall, especially in the fields of security and military.
The Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP), dubbed as the greatest infrastructure project in the island nation, was launched in August of last year by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Solih of the Maldives.
The proposal calls for the construction of a 6.74-kilometre-long bridge and causeway link to link Male, the capital of the Maldives, with the neighbouring islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi.
The Neighbourhood First policy of India is also one of the things that has benefited the Maldives the most. Earlier this month, Major General Abdulla Shamaal of the Maldives met with Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane on his visit to Maldives.
