A key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region, Maldives continues to occupy an important place in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and the ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of the Narendra Modi government. In pursuit of its priority of growth and development, or ‘sabkasaath, sabkavikas’, the Indian government is continuously working to increase the momentum and energy in the bilateral relationship which has “reached unprecedented levels” under the leadership of PM Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

In May, New Delhi announced the opening of a new Consulate General in Addu City to help augment India’s diplomatic presence in Maldives and make it commensurate with the existing and aspired level of engagement. A month before that, in the first meeting of the ‘Joint Working Group on Counter Terrorism, Countering Violent Extremism and De-Radicalisation’, both sides had reviewed threats posed by terrorist entities that are under UN sanctions and emphasized the need for concerted action against all terrorist networks.

India had also played a key role in the Maldives candidate, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, winning the election to the post of the President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in June. The victory meant that the Maldives will be only the sixth President from a Small Island Developing State, presiding over the UN General Assembly in the history of the United Nations. With two-thirds of the world’s oil shipments and half of all container ships passing through its waters, Maldives remains a geo-strategically important country, especially with the growing presence of China in the Indian Ocean Region.