Modi, Solih review progress of India-backed development projects in Maldives
Premium- The review of projects took place during a telephone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
NEW DELHI: India and the Maldives on Wednesday reviewed progress of India-assisted development projects in the Indian Ocean atoll nation, seen as having close ties with New Delhi and lying within its sphere of influence.
The review of projects took place during a telephone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, a government statement said.
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“President Solih thanked Prime Minister Modi for India’s cooperation and support in the fight against the covid pandemic," it said.
“Both leaders reviewed the progress of the India-supported development projects in the Maldives and expressed satisfaction at the rapid pace of implementation despite the constraints of the covid pandemic," it said.
Setting the context of the call, the statement said that the “conversation between the two leaders provided them an opportunity to take stock of the overall state of bilateral relations and provide further momentum and guidance to the ongoing substantive cooperation between the two countries."
Modi noted that “Maldives is a central pillar in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and its maritime vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)," the statement said referring to the primacy given to ties with Maldives among India’s immediate neighbours.
According to a country note published by the Indian foreign ministry on its website, Maldives’ proximity to the west coast of India -- barely 70 nautical miles away from Minicoy and 300 nautical miles away from Kerala -- and its location at the hub of commercial sea‐lanes running through Indian Ocean makes the atoll nation strategically significant for India.
Modi also congratulated Solih for the election of Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid as the President of the 76th UN General Assembly, the statement added.
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