India, Maldives hold High-Level Core Group meeting, discuss bilateral cooperation in defence, trade, investment

New Delhi [India], May 3 : Amid the ongoing diplomatic tensions, India and Maldives held their fourth High-Level Core Group meeting on Friday and discussed issues related to bilateral cooperation, including defence cooperation and efforts to enhance bilateral trade and investment.

The meeting was held in the national capital and both sides reviewed the ongoing efforts to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms

"Both sides continued their discussions on wide-ranging issues related to bilateral cooperation. This included defence cooperation, development cooperation projects, efforts to enhance bilateral trade & investment, and capacity-building initiatives," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

India and Maldives also reviewed the efforts to enable the operations of medvac services to the Maldivians.

"During the meeting, both sides also reviewed the ongoing efforts to enable the continued operation of Indian aviation platforms that provide humanitarian and medvac services to the people of Maldives," the statement added.

Moreover, it was agreed to hold the next meeting of the High-Level Core Group in Male on a mutually convenient date.

Amid the diplomatic row between the two countries, the Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives, Manu Mahawar held a meeting with the Maldivian Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Mohamed Saeed on Wednesday, to discuss potential areas of trade and economic cooperation.

It is pertinent to know that ties between India and the Maldives become strained since Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu assumed office after winning a supermajority in the Maldives Parliament.

Despite this, India has always retained its soft diplomatic stand for Maldives.

Muizzu has criticised India during and after the presidential polls and his government also formally requested India to withdraw its troops from Male. However, in March, Muizzu requested New Delhi for debt relief measures, while stating that India would continue to remain the Maldives' "closest ally," local media reported.

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