Rajnath heads to Maldives; here is what he will do at the island nation
Rajnath Singh's visit will be an important landmark in building the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries.
FollowAiming to further deepen bilateral cooperation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday left for Maldives, where he will gift a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces.
During his 3-day visit to the island nation, Rajnath Singh will hold bilateral defence talks with his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Ahmed Didi. He will also hold discussions with Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid on a range of issues.
"The entire gamut of defence relations between the two countries will be reviewed during the deliberations. He will also call on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih," the defence ministry said.
During his stay in the tiny nation, Rajnath Singh will also visit and review the ongoing project sites in the country and interact with the Indian diaspora.
His visit will be an important landmark in building the strong bonds of friendship between the two countries.
Amid China's growing influence in the Indian Ocean Region, India has further stepped up its outreach to the tiny island nations like Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, and Seychelles among others. New Delhi has been making constructive efforts to engage with these small island countries in the field of maritime security, maritime domain awareness, blue economy, connectivity and infrastructure.
The defence minister's visit is followed by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar's trip in January this year. Last year in March too, Jaishankar visited the tiny island nation in the backdrop of a sustained 'India Out' campaign carried out by the pro-China and former Maldives President, Abdulla Yameen. The protest continued for a couple of months.
However, after April 2022, there has been no anti-India campaign reported in the country. It is pertinent to mention that the Maldivian government has imposed a ban on any sort of anti-India campaign.
The campaign was initiated by opposition leader and former President Yameen, a known pro-Chinese politician in the island nation, after his acquittal in the money laundering and embezzlement case.
"India and the Maldives are working closely to effectively address shared challenges, including maritime security, terrorism, radicalisation, piracy, trafficking, organised crime and natural disasters," the defence ministry said.
"India's vision of SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) along with its 'Neighbourhood First' policy as well as Maldives' 'India First' policy seek to work together to jointly develop the capabilities within the Indian Ocean Region," it added.
It must be noted that since Solih, who is considered as "pro-India", came into power in 2018, New Delhi has enhanced its diplomatic and military ties significantly. It has also been helping Male with the capacity building of the Maldivian Naval Defence Force, military assistance and training, maritime information sharing and domain awareness.
The presidential election in the Maldives is slated to take place in September this year. China and India are closely monitoring the situation evolving in the island nation.
