India, Maldives sign agreements on a wide range of domains including fish processing, public broadcasting

India and Maldives on Saturday signed agreements on a wide range of domains including fish processing, public broadcasting, sustainable urban development, road infrastructure and housing. The agreements were exchanged after the talks between External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid in Male.

The agreement in the field of broadcasting is for cooperation between Prasar Bharati and PSM, the official State Media of Maldives. The MoU intends to facilitate collaboration and capacity building in the field of public broadcasting.

Dr Jaishankar in a tweet said, "Delighted to inaugurate jointly with FM @abdulla_shahid the Hulhumalé Central Park and the Westside Arrival Jetty. India is privileged to partner with Housing Development Corporation on the expansion of infrastructure in Hulhumalé."

Dr Jaishankar and Mr Shahid reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties as well as the progress of ongoing bilateral projects and held discussions on the ongoing COVID situation, including India's continued assistance to the Maldives for its post-COVID economic recovery.

Dr Jaishankar also handed over one lakh additional doses of COVID vaccine to Mr Shahid and Maldivian Health Minister Ahmed Naseem. Dr Jaishankar reached Male today on the first leg of his two-nation visit to Maldives and Mauritius.

During the visit, the External Affairs Minister will call on President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and have substantive discussions with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs, Defence, Finance, Economic Development and Planning and Infrastructure. He will also call on Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and meet with other political leaders.