New Delhi, 7 Oct (PTI): The inauguration of a new runway in the Maldives built under an airport redevelopment project assisted by India and the official launch of the RuPay card in the archipelago nation on Monday (October 7, 2024) are aimed at boosting economic ties and tourism cooperation between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu jointly virtually inaugurated the runway at the Hanimadhoo International Airport and also witnessed via weblink a live transaction using a RuPay payment service card in the Maldives.<\/p>\n
The launch took place after the two leaders held extensive talks which Mr. Muizzu in his press statement said were to \u201cchart a new path for the future collaboration\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Maldivian president accompanied by First Lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed and a Maldivian delegation arrived in India on Sunday evening.<\/p>\n
Though the Maldivian president attended PM Modi\u2019s swearing-in ceremony in June, it is his first bilateral visit to India.
\nPrior to the launch of different India-assisted projects in the Maldives, a small official video was played in which details about these projects were shared in the presence of the two leaders at the Hyderabad House.
\n\u201cThe bonds between India and Maldives stretch back centuries, woven together through rich trade and cultural exchanges,\u201d it was narrated in the video.<\/p>\n
Over the years, this relationship has evolved, characterised by \u201cmutual respect and unwavering support\u201d, underpinned by India\u2019s Neighbourhood First policy and SAGAR vision, it said.<\/p>\n
India has always been the first responder in the Maldives during times of crisis.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnder the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Mohamed Muizzu, this relationship is to achieve greater heights,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n
The RuPay card launch today will pave the way for strengthened India-Maldives relations by boosting tourism and economic cooperation, according to the India-Maldives video.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt will allow Indian tourists to make cashless transactions easily, reducing cost and enhancing convenience, especially in the Maldives tourism sector,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
The inauguration of the new runway at Hanimadhoo International Airport marks a \u201csignificant milestone in the airport\u2019s ongoing expansion project\u201d.
\nIts redevelopment, under an \u201cIndian Line of Credit of USD 132 million\u201d, aims to provide complete new infrastructure including runway, ATC tower, ARFF block, hangar, cargo facilities, and passenger terminal building, it added.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Modi in his press statement after the bilateral talks said President Muizzu\u2019s visit adds \u201canother chapter to our ties\u201d.<\/p>\n
After the talks, India also handed over 700 social housing units to the Maldives built under the EXIM Bank\u2019s buyer\u2019s credit facilities.<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Modi and President Muizzu met on Monday and \u201ccomprehensively reviewed the entire gamut of bilateral ties while noting the progress made by both countries in deepening their historically close and special relationship that has immensely contributed to the betterment of the peoples of the two countries,\u201d the MEA later said in a statement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New Delhi, 7 Oct (PTI): The inauguration of a new runway in the Maldives built under an airport redevelopment project assisted by India and the official launch of the RuPay card in the archipelago nation on Monday (October 7, 2024) are aimed at boosting economic ties and tourism cooperation between the two countries. Prime Minister […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-250022","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}