India is one of the top sources of tourism to Maldives: S Jaishankar

"I am very very encouraged to see that the combination of visa free travel, direct cargo vessels, they have all really provided a certain buoyancy to our ties. Bilateral trade has been expanding and we are proud to say we are the top source of tourism for Maldives, I think now for the (inaudible) and along with that we're also seeing the bilateral investment levels rising," Jaishankar said in a press conference on Wednesday.

He said: "So what I do want to say today is, we are good neighbours, we are strong partners, we are today mutually invested in development, in progress, but we also together have a responsibility for peace and security in the region. Our security partnership also continues to strengthen, which is the way it should be. And again here, India is always willing to meet the requirements and the needs of the Maldives for both for itself, and for the northern region."

After holding a meeting with Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, Jaishankar said: "I would also like to underline we deeply value our multilateral cooperation. I congratulate you Minister on your successful term as the President of the 76th UN General Assembly. It was our privilege to work very closely with you in that regard. I also congratulate Maldives as it commences its term as a member of the UN Human Rights Council."

Jaishankar said India is always willing to meet the requirements and the needs of the Maldives for both for itself, and for the northern region.

He said India's training programmer has intensified and over 900  Maldivian people had visited India, for in person training in 2022.

"As the Hanimaadhoo airport commences in the north, we are also privileged to be a partner, of course, in another very ambitious project in the capital, the greater Malé connectivity project. This is the largest project, I believe, that has ever been done in this country. It was formally initiated in August 2022 during President Solih’s visit to India, and I'm glad to see that work continues apace on this project," he said.

"We do expect it to become an economic corridor connecting Malé with Villingli, the proposed commercial port at Gulifalhu and the industrial zone at Thilafushi. Construction of 4000 social housing units at Hulhumale is also progressing well and I believe that too will contribute to meeting the needs of the Maldivian people," he said.

"Other projects like the Addu roads and reclamation, water sanitation infrastructure for 34 islands across the archipelago are also progressing well. We hope that the projects for the expansion of Gan airport and the development of the Gulifalhu port will go into implementation phase very soon. Needless to say all these projects adhere to the basic tenets of the Indian development cooperation approach, which is emphasis on transparency, full participation, ownership of the host country, and competitive pricing," Jaishankar said.

"I'm confident that (inaudible) these projects together will completely transform the economic landscape of the Maldives," he said.

Jaishankar is currently on a three-day visit to Sri Lanka and Maldives.