NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday gifted a ‘Made in India’ Patrol Vessel named "KAAMIYAAB” to the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) as part of Delhi’s efforts to be net security provider in the region amid China’s increasing forays in the Indian Ocean Region.

The brand-new vessel will be manned by eight Maldives personnel trained in India and will be a asset for Maldives in enhancing its maritime security, fostering its blue economy and safeguarding its tourism industry. India is a key supplier of defence equipment to Maldives and also trains its military personnel.

The two sides also exchanged of MoUs for three grant projects for setting up neighbourhood fish plants in the southernmost atoll of Addu of Maldives.

Mindful of the geographic spread of Maldives and the development needs of its people, these High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs) will be implemented by the Addu City Council in Maldives. These projects are being implemented under the MoU signed during then Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj’s visit to Maldives in early 2019 and will help support livelihoods of the island communities in the Addu.

Delhi and Male also exchanged an MoU between National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Bank of Maldives (BML) to launch the RuPay Card in Maldives. In 2019, tourist arrivals from India to Maldives have doubled and India has risen from 5th to the 2nd position in the tourism market of Maldives. The launch of the Global RuPay Card in Maldives through the Bank of Maldives will pave the way for higher tourist arrivals from India and, eventually, stronger people-to-people contacts between the two countries.

A Digital Video Conference (DVC) was held on Monday between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of Maldives to launch these initiatives.

Meanwhile 2500 LED streetlights donated by India were installed in Male recently. These streetlights save 80% energy and will result in cost savings of approx. 8.35 lakh MVR per year for Male city.