Abdulla Shahid arrives in Delhi on a 2-day visit to India

NEW DELHI: The Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdullah Shahid has arrived in Delhi, kickstarting his two-day official visit to India on Monday. He reached the national capital today during the evening hours.

During his visit, Abdullah Shahid will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for discussions on bilateral, regional & international issues of mutual interest.

The Foreign Minister will also deliver the 43rd Sapru House Lecture at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) in New Delhi.

Maldives is India's key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and occupies a special place in the Prime Minister's vision of 'SAGAR' (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the 'Neighbourhood First Policy'.

"The Maldives Foreign Minister's visit is in continuation of the series of high-level visits from both sides and is expected to lend further momentum to the substantive bilateral cooperation between the two countries," the Ministry of External Affairs said in an official release.Abdullah Shahid said in a tweet that his visit is in keeping with the tradition of high-level exchanges between Maldives and India. "Keeping with the tradition of high-level exchanges between #Maldives and #India, I am departing to New Delhi on an Official Visit at the invitation of EAM @DrSJaishankar. Look forward to continuing our discussions on enhancing the #MaldivesIndiaPartnership," Shahid tweeted.

Last month, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Abdulla Shahid attended the ceremony for the exchange of 10 Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) between India and Maldives in Male.

Muraleedharan noted that MoUs will facilitate the implementation of development projects in areas like arts, sports, education and health under India's grant assistance.