EAM Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka to further expand bilateral engagement with the two key maritime neighbours of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih have jointly participated in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Hanimaadhoo international airport redevelopment project, a \u201chistoric milestone\u201d in the robust India-Maldives development partnership<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka<\/a> to further expand bilateral engagement with the two key maritime neighbours of India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, Mr. Jaishankar said India\u2019s partnership with the Maldives is based on its genuine desire to work together for each other\u2019s welfare and interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is a partnership that has enabled us to swiftly and effectively respond to challenges, as we saw recently during the Covid pandemic. It is a partnership that has enabled us to deliver results and bring about tangible benefits to our peoples in accordance with their wishes, aspirations and priorities,\u201d he said on Jan. 18 evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow we all know that the current complex geopolitical environment has thrown up new disruptions which are impacting every country in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe need for cooperation and collaboration has assumed even greater importance in this context,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n India has extended support to Maldives to address the evolving economic challenges, including through emergency financial assistance and strongly reaffirmed New Delhi\u2019s firm commitment to continued cooperation to Male.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Jaishankar said the initiation of the Hanimaadhoo international airport development project marks a \u201chistoric milestone\u201d in the robust India-Maldives development partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJoined President @ibusolih and his Ministers and local leaders at the ground-breaking ceremony of Hanimaadhoo International Airport Development Project,\u201d he tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis project will bridge the gap between the people of Northern Maldives and the rest of the world and bring our peoples together. And India is privileged to be with the Maldives for its implementation,\u201d he said at the ceremony attended by a broad spectrum of Members of Parliament and representatives from the Atoll councils in the Maldives. Mr. Jaishankar said better connectivity is a prerequisite for greater prosperity and with this rationale, greater connectivity finds resonance in India\u2019s theme for the G20 Presidency \u2013 \u2018One Earth, One Family, One Future\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is our endeavour to share India\u2019s experiences, learnings and models as possible templates for others, particularly in the developing world and to promote a universal sense of oneness through enhancing connectivity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Jaishankar later tweeted that the rising number of Indian tourists in the Maldives is a \u2018reflection of our deepening ties and are outcomes of focus on infrastructure and connectivity, especially under the Modi Government.\u201d President Solih described the airport development project as a well-planned, studied and executed project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The historic project is the largest and most significant infrastructure project initiated outside the Male region. Funded through an MVR2.1 billion loan from the Exim Bank of India, the project is contracted to India-based firm JMC Projects, Mr. Solih said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n President Solih said the northern region would see economic progress upon the completion of the project as it would increase tourism facilities, including guesthouses and city hotels, drive job creation in the northern atolls, and transform the region into an economic hub.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He underscored that the airport project coupled with the redevelopment of the Kulhudhuffushi Regional Port and connectivity through the Raajje Transport Link (RTL) high-speed ferry services would help the administration transform northern Maldives into the perfect model of a thriving economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Providing details on the airport development projects underway in particular, President Solih said that while Hoarafushi Airport and Faresmaathoda Airport projects have been completed, his administration has also mobilised resources for the Maafaru International Airport project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earlier, Mr. Jaishankar was given a traditional Maldivian welcome when he arrived at Manadhoo, the capital of Noonu Atoll in the Maldives, on Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Maldives and Sri Lanka are India\u2019s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and occupy a special place in the Prime Minister\u2019s vision of \u2018SAGAR\u2019 (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and \u2018Neighbourhood First\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n thehindu.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" EAM Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka to further expand bilateral engagement with the two key maritime neighbours of India. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih have jointly participated in the groundbreaking ceremony of the Hanimaadhoo international airport redevelopment project, a \u201chistoric milestone\u201d in … Continue reading Jaishankar, Maldives President Solih participate in groundbreaking ceremony of Hanimaadhoo airport redevelopment project<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17749"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17749\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17753,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17749\/revisions\/17753"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.globalrecordsindia.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}