Minister of External Affairs of India Dr. S. Jaishankar has praised the Maldives for its successful recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. He made the remarks while speaking at the joint statement with Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.
Speaking at the joint statement in Addu City, Minister Jaishankar congratulated President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Government of the Maldives, and the citizens for dealing with the adversity of COVID-19 in a successful and effective manner. He said the Maldives has been able to vaccinate a large part of its population and the national economy is now showing resiliency.
Furthermore, Minister Jaishankar said the cooperation between the Maldives and India during the pandemic has displayed solidarity in terms of the speed of the response and expressed hope that the agreement signed for the reciprocal recognition of COVID-19 certificates is a step forward in that direction and will contribute to easier travelling between the two countries.
Additionally, Minister Jaishankar said development is a central pillar of the two country’s relationship and that it is a transparent partnership driven directly by Maldivian needs and priorities in terms of grants concessional loans budgetary support capacity building, and training assistance. With regards to Addu, he said India is supporting projects in a range of sectors, infrastructure, tourism, fish processing, and health.
Minister Jaishankar is visiting the Maldives at the invitation of Minister Shahid to attend the opening ceremony of the National College of Policing and Law Enforcement and sign a number of agreements with the Maldives.