New Delhi [India], July 26 : External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday extended wishes to the government and people of Maldives on their Independence Day.
Taking to Twitter, he extended his greetings to his Maldivian counterpart, Abdulla Shahid and said, "Warm greetings to FM @abdulla_shahid and the Government and people of Maldives on their Independence Day."
"Cherish our comprehensive, special and ever deepening friendship," Jaishankar added.
Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid was on a two-day visit to India in the early weeks of July.
During his visit, he met his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar and held delegation-level talks. The two sides discussed several bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest. Moreover, India and Maldives also exchanged nine new Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) at that time.
"The Maldives Foreign Minister's visit is in continuation of the series of high-level visits from both sides and is expected to lend further momentum to the substantive bilateral cooperation between the two countries," according to the Ministry of External Affairs official release.
Maldives is India's key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and occupies a special place in Prime Minister Modi's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the 'Neighbourhood First Policy'.
In June this year, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Abdulla Shahid attended the ceremony for the exchange of 10 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) between India and Maldives in Male.
India and Maldives' relationship is not limited to political affairs but they also have a strong military alliance. Recently, India and Maldives held a Joint Exercise Ekuverin concluded after intense validation training.
The 12th edition of the joint military exercise "Ex Ekuverin" between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force took place at Chaubatia, Uttarakhand from June 11-24, 2023, reported the Ministry of Defence.
Ekuverin meaning 'Friends' is a bilateral annual exercise conducted alternatively in India and Maldives.
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