President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi convened in Malé on Friday for a high-level diplomatic engagement that culminated in the exchange of eight formal agreements and the inauguration of several development projects. Described by both governments as the beginning of a "new era", the visit underscored a revitalised commitment to strategic cooperation between the two South Asian nations.
Prime Minister Modi arrived in the Maldivian capital this morning and was received with full ceremonial honours by President Muizzu at Velana International Airport. A formal welcoming ceremony held at Republic Square was followed by private talks at the President's Office and subsequent bilateral discussions between the two delegations. It is Prime Minister Modi's first official visit to the Maldives since securing a third consecutive term in office, and he was accompanied by a senior-level Indian delegation.
The centrepiece of the visit was a ceremonial exchange of eight Memoranda of Understanding aimed at expanding collaboration across trade, finance, fisheries, healthcare, climate science, digital technology, and cross-border transactions. Negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) were formally launched with the exchange of a framework by Mohamed Saeed, the Maldives' Minister of Economic Development and Trade, and India's Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Financial cooperation featured prominently in the engagement, with Maldives' Minister of Finance and Planning, Moosa Zameer, and India's External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, jointly executing a USD 565 million line-of-credit framework agreement and an amendatory credit line agreement that underscored India's developmental support to the island nation. Cooperation in the maritime sector was formalised through a bilateral agreement on fisheries and aquaculture, exchanged between Ahmed Shiyam, Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources of the Maldives, and Minister Jaishankar, acting on behalf of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
In public health, Abdulla Nazim Ibrahim, Maldives' Minister of Health, and Minister Jaishankar signed an accord on pharmacopoeia standards, establishing a framework between the Maldives Food and Drug Authority (MFDA) and the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission to strengthen the regulation of medicinal quality. Environmental and climate science collaboration was advanced through an agreement between the Maldives Meteorological Services and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology. The document was exchanged by Thoriq Ibrahim, Minister of Tourism and Environment, and Minister Jaishankar.
A separate Memorandum of Understanding was signed to facilitate digital cooperation between the Maldives' Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology and India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. The agreement was exchanged by Minister Ali Ihusaan and Minister Jaishankar. Cross-border financial integration was addressed through the signing of a network-to-network remittance framework agreement between the Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) and NPCI Payments. The exchange was undertaken by Dr Abdulla Khaleel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, and Minister Jaishankar.