Malé, Maldives – Defence Minister of Maldives Mariya Didi on Sunday, has met with the officials of the EXIM Bank of India and had discussions regarding a USD 50 million Line of Credit (LoC) for defence protects.
The agreement between India’s EXIM Bank and the Maldivian government for the defence LOC will facilitate capability building in the maritime domain according to the External Affairs Minister of India. The required development projects under this line of credit will be decided by the Maldivian government.
India will also support the development of other infrastructure, communications resources and radar services at Uthuru Thila Falhu and provide training to Maldivian personnel. MNDF officials told the media that no foreign military personnel will be stationed at the facility, which will be used to dock, maintain and repair Coast Guard vessels.
In addition to this, the External Affairs Minister of India also signed an agreement with Defence Minister Maria to develop, support and maintain the Coast Guard harbour in Uthuru Thila Falhu. The two ministers also reviewed various facets of defence and security cooperation during their meeting. Jaishankar said India will always be a reliable security partner.
