Male: Prime Minister Narendra Modi was honored with a ceremonial welcome at the Republic Square in Male on his first foreign visit after assuming office for the second time. Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohammad Solih was present during the ceremony. Narendra Modi was received at the airport by Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.
Modi on his new tenure as the Prime Minister plans to promote the ‘Neighbour First’ policy to boost peace and security in the region.
The Prime Minister was also presented with the Maldives highest honor reserved for foreign dignitaries, “Rule of Izzuddeen” which reflects the priority the island nation is giving India. The highlight of the visit was Narendra Modi’s address to Majlis, the parliament of Maldives. Last month the Maldivian Parliamentary unanimously passed a resolution for inviting Modi to address the House during his visit.
During his speech to the members of Majlis he brought out the dangerous of terrorism for the entire civilization and called the world community to fight terrorism and radicalization.
The Prime Minister said, “Terrorism is a danger not just for a country but the entire civilization. State-sponsored terrorism is the biggest threat today. It is important for the world community to come together to fight the challenge of terrorism and radicalization.” He said it is time for a global conference on terrorism.
Narendra Modi also called for strong bilateral ties between the countries and said that India is willing to assist the island nation in every way possible. MoU were exchanged for cooperation in field of hydrography, field of health, establishment of passenger and cargo service by sea, cooperation in customs capacity building, training and capacity building for Maldivian civil servants and agreement on sharing white shipping information.
The Prime Minster also told the Majlis that there is a need to bring change in values and approach to minimize the adverse effects of climate change. He called for the need to turn to renewable energy sources.
As a gesture of the warm relations between the two leaders, Narendra Modi, gifted the President of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohammad Solih, an adherent cricket fan, a bat signed by Team India.
Narendra Modi will leave for Sri Lanka tomorrow.
