External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Sunday called on Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and reaffirmed India's fullest commitment as a comprehensive development partner of the island nation during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Mr Jaishankar, who arrived in Male on Saturday on the first leg of his two-nation tour that will also take him to Mauritius, has gifted 100,000 additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Maldives.
After holding talks with President Mr Solih, Mr Jaishankar tweeted, "Thank President @ibusolih for receiving me. Conveyed PM's greetings. Reiterated our fullest commitment as comprehensive development partners - during COVID and beyond."
Addressing a joint press conference on Saturday along with his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid, Jaishankar said the 'India First'' foreign policy of President Solih is reciprocated in full measure by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Neighbourhood First' policy in which Maldives enjoys a central position."
He said the first and largest recipient of India's Covid support - be it medicines, food, medical response teams or financial package - was Maldives.
India last month had provided 1,00,000 doses of Covisheild vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), to the Maldives as part of India's grant assistance.
Earlier on Sunday, Mr Jaishnakar held discussions with Maldivian Defence Minister Mariya Didi and the two sides signed a USD 50 million defence Line of Credit agreement to facilitate capability building in the maritime domain.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Maldives Recalls Diplomat In Pakistan Over Unauthorised Meet With Taliban Envoy Inside Soha Ali Khan And Kunal Kemmu's "Vitamin Sea" Album From Their Maldives Vacation "Only Advice I Can Give Is...": S Jaishankar's Answer To Question On Health Spoke Of Reunification Under India: Sources On Lalduhoma's Viral Old Speech Explained: Sunita Williams Experiences 16 Sunrises And Sunsets Every Day US Election 2024: Donald Trump Leads Kamala Harris In All Swing States North Korea Fires Another Ballistic Missile Ahead Of US Election What If The US Election Ends In A Trump-Kamala Harris Tie? Abortion Rights Issue Influencing Indian American Women's Voting Preference Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.