Maldives Foreign Minister Dr Mohamed Asim called on Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Thursday. Asim, who…
Maldives Foreign Minister Mohamed Asim called on Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Thursday. (Photo: Twitter)
Maldives Foreign Minister Dr Mohamed Asim called on Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj in New Delhi on Thursday.
Asim, who is also the official envoy of the President of Maldives Abdulla Yameen, met Sushma to discuss the strengthening of bilateral relationship keeping, whilst keeping in mind ‘India first’ policy of Maldives and India’s policy of ‘Neighbourhood first’.
EAM @SushmaSwaraj met Dr. Mohamed Asim, Foreign Minister and Special Envoy of the President of Maldives. Both had productive discussions to strengthen bilateral relationship keeping in mind ‘India first’ policy of Maldives and our policy of ‘Neighbourhood first’. pic.twitter.com/h44h8xAlFQ
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— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) January 11, 2018
Maldives Foreign Minister Asim will also call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend him an invitation to visit the Indian Ocean archipelago. The Maldives is the only country in the region Modi has not visited so far.
Maldives had signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China late last year without any debate in their Parliament, shaking India’s trust in the island nation. The signing of the FTA is perceived as a reversal of the Maldives’ ‘India First’ policy since it came despite an assurance from the President that an FTA with India would be signed first.
After the signing of the Maldives-China FTA, the Ministry of External Affairs had clearly stated that the Maldives should be sensitive to New Delhi’s concerns and keep in mind its “India First” policy.
The growing relationship between the Maldives and China has fuelled India’s fears of China increasing its clout in India’s own backyard.
In another recent incident, the Maldives government suspended three local councillors for meeting the Indian ambassador to Male. Media reports in recent days have also suggested that the Maldivian authorities have imposed undeclared restrictions on the movements of the Indian envoy.
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