There was concern in the Maldives’ bilateral ties with India at the time of S Jaishankar and Mossa Zameer’s meeting in Kampala, the capital of Uganda. In Kampala, S. Jaishankar is representing India in the two-day NAM summit.
Kampala: On Thursday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with his counterpart Moosa Zameer from the Maldives here. The two leaders engaged in a “frank conversation” about the state of relations between their two nations.
There was concern in the Maldives’ bilateral ties with India at the time of S Jaishankar and Mossa Zameer’s meeting in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.
Mr. Jaishankar is in Kampala to represent India at the Non-Aligned Movement’s (NAM) two-day summit, which gets underway on Friday.
“Today in Kampala, I met Maldives FM @MoosaZameer. open discussion of relations between India and the Maldives. Additionally, NAM-related matters were discussed “Jaishankar shared a picture from the meeting on X.
Mr. Zameer wrote on X that he enjoyed seeing Jaishankar outside of the NAM Summit.
“We exchanged views on the ongoing high-level discussions on the withdrawal of Indian military personnel, as well as expediting the completion of ongoing development projects in the Maldives, and cooperation within SAARC and NAM,” he stated.
The minister from the Maldives added, “We are committed to further strengthening and expanding our cooperation.” He uploaded a picture of the gathering as well.
The Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, who is viewed by many as a pro-China figure, insisted after taking office in November that he would fulfil his election pledge to expel Indian military personnel from his nation, which put pressure on ties between India and the Maldives.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi caused a stir on social media when he uploaded a video of himself on a spotless beach in Lakshadweep, prompting insults from a minister and a few other Maldivian leaders.
Following their social media posts that sparked anxiety in India and calls for a boycott by Indian tourists—who came in second in terms of numbers only to Russian tourists—Mr. Muizzu suspended the three ministers. Chinese visitors came in third.
One of India’s most important maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region is the Maldives, and during the previous administration in Male, bilateral relations generally increased, particularly in the fields of security and defence.
When Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Maldives in May of last year, he gave the island nation a landing craft and a rapid patrol vessel.
Described as the largest development initiative in the island nation, the Greater Male connection project was initiated in August by Prime Minister Modi and former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldives, with funding from India.
A 6.74-kilometer bridge and causeway link will be constructed as part of the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) to link the capital city of Male with the nearby islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi.