NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday held talks with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid and handed over 1 lakh additional doses of Covid vaccine to the country. The two leaders discussed bilateral issues, the pandemic and various projects being developed under Indian assistance and also cooperation in multilateral platforms. “Ours is an extraordinarily deep partnership.
Our timetested relationship is posed today for a quantum jump, scaling new heights. India’s first and largest COVID-19 vaccine support was given to the Maldives. It is the first country where India-made vaccines landed. I extend strong support to Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid for his candidature for Presidentship of 76th session of United Nations General Assembly,” Jaishankar said at a joint press conference. “We are partners in development, but also in promoting peace and security in the region.
” The foreign minister is on a two-leg tour to Maldives and Mauritius and will call on Maldivian Presiden Ibrahim Solih and others. Later, Jaishankar addressed an event on youth and sports where he announced a $40 million line of credit for sports infrastruct u r e d eve l o pme n t i n the Maldives.
“Maldives is a young nation and Maldivians have tremendous sporting talent. The fastest man in South Asia, Hassan Saaid, is a proud Maldivian and has received training in India,” the minister said, adding that he looked forward to the day when he could see the Maldives cricket team at a major international event.