During his two-day official state visit, PM Modi addressed the parliament of the Maldives and stated a huge emphasis on how the Indian government and the people of India are ready to uphold and protect the Independence of the Maldivian people.
PM Modi is the second foreign dignitary that has spoken and addressed the parliament in the country’s history with the first being the former Prime Minister of India Mr Manmohan Singh.
In his address, he stated that the two countries have relations going back hundreds of years and he intends to make sure that the Maldives and India uphold this in the many years to come. He also stated that under his “neighbourhood first policy” he gives special attention to the needs of the Maldivian government and the people in all aspects of development. He also shed some light on the three major problems being faced by the countries in the region; terrorism, climate change and security and he hope to work together with the Maldives and other countries to improve and negate the negative situations affecting the region.
In his closing statement, he stressed on the bilateral relations between the countries and how the Maldives and India have championed democracy in the region. After his state visit to the Maldives, he will be making an official visit to neighbouring Srilanka.