Jaishankar is in Kampala to represent India at the two-day Non-Aligned Movement summit.
Kampala:
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met his Maldivian counterpart Musa Zamir here and the two leaders had a “candid conversation” on relations between the two countries.
The meeting between S Jaishankar and Musa Zamir in the Ugandan capital Kampala came amid concern in bilateral relations between the Maldives and India.
Jaishankar is in Kampala to represent India at the two-day Non-Aligned Movement summit that begins on Friday.
Jaishankar posted on
Met Maldives FM @Musa Zamir Today in Kampala.
A frank conversation about relationships 🇮🇳-🇲🇻. Issues related to the Non-Aligned Movement were also discussed. pic.twitter.com/P7ResFlCaK
– Dr. S. Jaishankar (DrSJaishankar) January 18, 2024
In a post on X, Mr. Zamir said that it was a pleasure to meet Jaishankar on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit.
“We exchanged views on the ongoing high-level discussions on the withdrawal of Indian military personnel, as well as expediting the completion of ongoing development projects in the Maldives, and cooperation within SAARC and the Non-Aligned Movement,” he wrote.
“We are committed to further strengthening and expanding our cooperation,” the Maldivian minister wrote. He also posted a photo of the meeting.
India-Maldives relations have come under some strain as Maldivian President Mohamed Moizo, widely seen as a pro-China leader, after taking office as president in November, asserted that he would fulfill his election promise to expel Indian military personnel from his country.
A row erupted on social media earlier this month when a minister and some other leaders in the Maldives used derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he posted a video of himself on a clean beach in Lakshadweep.
Mr Moiso suspended the three ministers after their social media posts, which sparked concern in India and calls for a boycott of Indian tourists, who ranked first in number, followed by Russia. Chinese tourists ranked third.
The Maldives is one of India's major maritime neighbors in the Indian Ocean region and the overall bilateral relations including the areas of defense and security saw an upward trajectory under the previous government in Malé.
In May last year, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Maldives where he handed over a fast patrol ship and a landing craft to the island nation.
In August, Prime Minister Modi and then Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih kicked off India's largest male delivery project, which was described as the largest infrastructure initiative in the island nation.
Under the Greater Male Connection Project (GMCP), a 6.74-kilometre-long causeway and causeway will be built to connect the capital, Male, to neighboring islands such as Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.
The Maldives is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of India's Neighborhood First policy.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)