India, Maldives partnership a real force of stability: MEA

India has said that its partnership with Maldives is of great consequence and a real force of stability and prosperity for the Indian Ocean Region. Speaking at inauguration of the National College for Policing and Law Enforcement in Male yesterday, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said, Defence cooperation is another key pillar of the partnership.

Lauding Maldives policy of India First and India's policy of Neighbourhood First, the minister



said, in recent times under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the India-Maldives partnership has achieved momentum and indeed dynamism on an unprecedented scale. 

Dr Jaishankar highlighted people-to-people ties between the two countries as India was among the top sources of tourists for Maldives in 2020 and 2021, helped by the air bubble arrangement.