As part of India’s “gift” to the Maldives during his visit to the island nation from May 1 to 3, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hand over a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the country.
This was announced by the Defence Ministry on Sunday, a day ahead of Singh’s visit to the Maldives, one of India’s most important maritime neighbours from a strategic perspective.
According to the statement, Singh’s visit will mark an “important landmark” in forging close ties of friendship between the two nations.
Singh will meet with the Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and have discussions with Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, and Defence Minister Mariya Didi, during his visit.
“In tune with India’s commitment to capacity building of friendly countries and partners in the region, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will gift one fast patrol vessel ship and a landing craft to the Maldives National Defence Forces,” the ministry said in a statement.
The full range of defence relations between the two countries will be reviewed, according to a statement about Singh’s discussions with the Maldivian defence and foreign ministers.
One of India’s most important maritime neighbours is the Maldives, and in recent years, bilateral ties between the two countries have improved overall, including in the fields of security and defence.
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