Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar chose the Maldives for his first overseas visit, emphasising the significance of the bilateral partnership between the two countries as India-Maldives share common perspectives on maritime security issues.
During his three-day visit, Admiral Hari Kumar called on President Ibrahim Mohamad Solih, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid, and Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi, besides the Chief of Defence Force, Major General Abdulla Shamaal to boost cooperation between the Indian Navy and Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) in the area of maritime information, maritime domain awareness, bilateral maritime agreements, and capacity-building initiatives.
Mariya Didi thanked India for providing swift, unconditional support to the island nation at all times and highlighted that the India-Maldives defence partnership is at its pinnacle, Policy Research Group reported.
The Maldives is not just among India’s foremost development partners in South Asia but also a reliable and trustworthy defence and security partner, more so since defence partnership is emerging critical to maintaining peace and stability in the Southern Indian Ocean Region, Policy Research Group reported further.
“CNS’s first overseas visit, guided by Prime Minister’s ‘Five S’ Vision, further consolidated the long-standing bilateral relations between two close maritime neighbours,” the spokesperson of the Indian Navy stated in a Twitter post.
“New avenues have been identified for expanding the scope of bilateral cooperation in defence and maritime domain,” he added.