Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar is scheduled to begin an official visit to the Maldives on Friday.
According to the Foreign Ministry, he will be visiting from August 9 to 11 at the invitation of Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer.
During this visit, Jaishankar will pay a courtesy call to President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and will hold official talks with Minister Zameer.
The Foreign Ministry said the purpose of the talks is to review the existing bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Zameer and Jaishankar will also inaugurate the completed projects under the High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDP) and Line of Credit facility of EXIM Bank of India and witness the exchange of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on areas for capacity building, commerce and trade.
This is the first official visit by Jaishankar to the Maldives since assuming office for a second term in June 2024.
This is the first visit by a senior Indian official to Maldives since Muizzu took office. Former Indian Earth Science Minister Kiren Rijiju attended Muizzu's swearing-in ceremony.
Jaishankar's visit comes at a time when the two countries have started working on restoring ties after increased tensions during the early days of the People's National Congress (PNC) government.
Jaishankar last visited Maldives in January 2023 to attend a special ceremony to start the practical work of the Hanimaadhoo airport development project which is being carried out with the assistance of the Indian government. He had previously visited Maldives in August 2022.
