New Delhi: In
a big push towards 'Neighbourhood First' policy, India today handed over a
‘Made in India’ patrol vessel to the Maldives and launched the RuPay card
during a video conference between PM Narendra Modi and Maldives President
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
The patrol vessel named "KAAMIYAAB" was handed
over to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and it will be manned by
eight MNDF personnel who will be trained in India.
Making the announcement PM Modi said
that the vessel had been constructed by L&T in his home state Gujarat.
“It will help enhance Maldives' maritime security and
promote your blue economy and tourism,” said the PM.
The patrol vessel will be a valuable asset for the island
country in enhancing and enforcing its maritime security, fostering its blue
economy and safeguarding its tourism industry.
The two sides exchanged MoUs for three grant projects for
setting up neighbourhood fish plants in the southernmost atoll of Addu. Atolls
are coral reef islands, or rather the administrative subdivisions on circular
groups of coral islets, many of which abound in the Maldives.
These High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs)
will fulfil the needs of the people and will be implemented by the Addu City
Council in the Maldives and will help and support livelihoods of the island
communities in Addu.
Another significant development was the
exchange of MoU between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and
the Bank of Maldives (BML) to launch the RuPay Card in the Maldives.
Ever since the BJP government came to power at the Centre in
2014 the NPCI started issuing global cards for the first time and since then it
has been introduced in many countries and has become an important part of
India’s economic diplomacy.
Apart from the Maldives, RuPay can also be used in
Singapore, Bhutan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
PM Modi had announced that RuPay cards would be launched in
the Maldives during his address to the Maldivian Parliament on 8 June 2019.
This trip to the island nation was PM Modi’s first foreign visit of his second
tenure and reflected the importance India attached to its ‘neighbourhood first’
policy.
The PM also said that the convergence of India's
'Neighbourhood First' and the Maldives's India First' policies had strengthened
bilateral cooperation in all sectors.
Bilateral ties between the Maldives and India have
strengthened significantly and improved ever since Ibrahim Solih was elected as
the President in 2018. India-Maldives bilateral relation had gone sour when
Abdulla Yameen, known for his pro-China stance, was in power.
Recently, Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Shahid had
admitted that the former president had tried to play India against
China.
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