India Inks 6 Agreements With Maldives, Offers New $100 Million Credit Line

India inked six agreements with the Maldives connected Tuesday to grow bilateral practice and offered an further $100 cardinal enactment of recognition to enactment improvement projects successful the land nation.

The six pacts signed successful New Delhi betwixt Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih volition boost their practice successful capableness building, cyber security, housing, and catastrophe management.

Had an fantabulous gathering with President @ibusolih. We got the accidental to reappraisal the afloat scope of relations betwixt our nations. India cherishes the adjacent relationship with Maldives. We are moving intimately successful areas specified arsenic accomplishment development, energy, innovation and more. pic.twitter.com/VVybU9iLDh

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) August 2, 2022

The 2 leaders besides launched the Greater Male Connectivity Project, a 4.2 miles (6.74-kilometer)-long span and causeway funded by India that volition link the land nation’s capital, Male, to 3 different islands. It is the largest infrastructure task successful the Maldives, costing $500 million.

“We besides reviewed projects for the operation of 4,000 societal lodging units successful Greater Male today. I americium blessed to denote that we volition additionally supply fiscal enactment for 2,000 societal lodging units,” Modi said successful a statement.

“We person besides decided to supply an further $100 cardinal enactment of recognition truthful that each projects tin beryllium completed successful a time-bound manner,” helium added.

Modi said that adjacent India-Maldives relations are captious for the bid and stableness of the Indian Ocean, wherever the menace of transnational crime, terrorism, and cause trafficking has go “serious.”

India besides aims to bolster defence practice with the land federation by supplying 24 vehicles and 1 naval vessel to the Maldives Security Force and assisting successful the operation of constabulary facilities connected 61 islands of the Maldives.

“India has been and volition proceed to beryllium the archetypal responder successful immoderate request oregon situation of the Maldives,” Modi remarked.

India, China Vie for Influence

Solih arrived successful India connected Monday connected a four-day authoritative visit. He described the relations betwixt the Maldives and India arsenic “the highest priority,” adding that his state “will ever stay a existent person of India.”

Solih has touted an “India-first policy” and pledged afloat enactment toward deepening ties with India since taking bureau successful 2018, a departure from his predecessor, Abdullah Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who forged adjacent ties with Beijing.

India was acrophobic by Yameen’s inclination towards China, which sought to summation much power successful the Indian Ocean. Yameen had pledged enactment for Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative, with China investing successful galore infrastructure projects successful the Maldives.

Yameen ruled the Maldives from 2013 to 2018. He was accused of corruption and stifling dissent and the media during his clip successful office.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.