Diplomatist Magazine Diplomatist September 2019 | Page 2

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Visit Of External
Affairs Minister To
Maldives
E
xternal Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar (EAM) visited
Male on September 3-4, 2019. The visit was the first high-
level bilateral visit from India to Maldives following Prime
Minister Modi’s State Visit on June 8-9, 2019. During the
visit, EAM called on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed
Solih and Speaker Mohamed Nasheed. He also held bilateral
talks with Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.
EAM conveyed greetings of Prime Minister Modi to
President Solih and briefed him on the satisfactory status of
implementation of decisions taken during President Solih’s
visit to India in December, 2018 and Prime Minister Modi’s
visit to Maldives in June, 2019. He expressed appreciation
for the ‘India First’ policy of the Maldivian Government
and its principled position on Indian Government’s recent
decision regarding Article 370 and J&K as an “internal
matter of India”.
During his meeting with Speaker Nasheed, EAM
acknowledged his contribution to promoting bilateral ties as
well as his ideas and proposals on environmental protection.
EAM also congratulated him for the successful holding of
the recent South Asian Speakers’ Conference in Maldives.
EAM and Foreign Minister Shahid reviewed the
state of bilateral relations, in particular, the progress on
implementation of decisions emanating from state visits
from both sides in the last nine months. The Mutual Legal
Assistance Treaty on criminal matters was signed between
both sides. Both Ministers also jointly laid the foundation
stone of the new Chancery building of Embassy of India in
the Diplomatic Enclave in Hulhumale’.
During the visit, EAM Dr. Jaishankar also participated in
the Indian Ocean Conference 2019. In his keynote address
on “Securing the Indian Ocean Region: Traditional and Non-
traditional challenges”, he highlighted India’s articulation of
the Indo-Pacific construct. He called on Prime Minister of
Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremasinghe and met with Minister of
Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade
of Mauritius Nandcoomar Bodha and Secretary General,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Oman Sayyid bin Hamad
Albusaidi on the side-lines of the Conference. n
Source: Ministry of External Affairs
External Affairs Minister meets Abdulla Shahid, Foreign Minister of Maldives in Male (September 03, 2019)
2 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 9 • September 2019, Noida