New Delhi: External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar on Wednesday extended greetings to his Maldives counterpart, Abdulla Shahid, on the occasion of their Republic Day and asserted that both the nations have built exemplary bilateral ties.
“Best wishes to my colleague FM Abdulla Shahid and the Government and people of Maldives on their Republic Day. We have built a truly exemplary relationship between neighbours. Committed to taking our cooperation to even greater heights,” Jaishankar tweeted.
Thanking Jaishankar for the best wishes, Shahid said India and Maldives have a relationship of shared values and principles.
“Thankyou EAM @DrSJaishankar for your greetings on our Republic Day. Ours is a relationship of shared values and principles. We are equally committed to advancing our relationship and partnership for the benefit of our peoples!” he tweeted.
The Maldives celebrates Republic Day every year on November 11.
On Monday, during his two-day high-level bilateral visit to the Maldives, Foreign Secretary Harsh Shringla called on President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and briefed him on the satisfactory status of implementation of decisions taken during the high-level interactions between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Solih in December 2018 and June 2019.
Solih expressed his deep appreciation for the support received from India in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, the USD 250 million financial assistance provided in September 2020 as budget support, according to a statement.