India, Maldives take steps to expand security partnership

India and the Maldives on Sunday launched a series of initiatives to expand their security partnership hoping to stabilise the Southern Indian Ocean Region amid rising threats of sea borne terror and China's increasing footprint in the area.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar, who is on a two-day trip to the Maldives, said on Sunday that "India and Maldives share a deep and abiding friendship. Today, our relationship is so full of promises and possibilities for our youth and for our future generations. It is also a partnership of great consequence and a real force of stability and prosperity for the Indian Ocean Region."

Jaishankar made the remarks while inaugurating the National College for Policing and Law Enforcement (NCPLE) - one of India's largest funded projects in the island nation - in the Maldives' Addu City in the presence of Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.


He termed the project "a real symbol of our development partnership" and congratulated the Maldives Police service on their new training centre. On the sidelines of the inauguration ceremony, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy and the Maldives Police Force to support the upgradation of police infrastructure across the archipelago.

The project for creation of police infrastructure facilities across the islands of Maldives with over $40 million financing from EXIM Bank of India has received the necessary approvals, the minister said.

Noting that defence cooperation is another key pillar of the partnership, Jaishankar said he would be formally handing over to the Chief of Defence Forces, the Coastal Radar System, which comprises 10 radar stations. This system will contribute to enhancing security for the Maldives and for the entire region.

"Nine of our 20 ongoing High Impact Community Development Projects are in fact in Addu City... We have made swift progress in the iconic Greater Male Connectivity Project as well."