Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar called on Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamad Solih

New Delhi: Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar is on a three-day visit to Maldives from April 18 to 20 to boosts India’s defence ties with the island nation.

During the visit, the Navy chief called on Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamad Solih, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi, and Major General Abdulla Shamaal, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDF).

After his meeting with President Solih, the Indian High Commission in Male tweeted that the Chief of the Naval Staff reiterated India's commitment to enhancing maritime cooperation with the Maldives for a safe and secure Indian Ocean region.

"This visit further consolidated the strong and long-standing bilateral relations between two close maritime neighbours and also identified new avenues of expanding the scope of bilateral cooperation in the defence and maritime domains," the Indian Navy said in a statement

Reaffirming India's commitment to the capacity-building efforts of the island nation, Admiral Kumar presented a consignment of engineering equipment for further sustenance of ships belonging to the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF.

He also unveiled the first navigation chart jointly produced by India and the Maldives and handed over certain hydrography equipment to consolidate the organic capabilities of the MNDF.

The Navy chief hosted a reception onboard Indian Naval Ship Sutlej on Monday in honour of the Maldivian defence minister and the leadership of the MNDF.

This also marks Admiral R Hari Kumar’s first visit abroad since taking charge as chief of the Indian Navy in November 2021.