Neighbourhood First Policy: India And Maldives Sign $4.5 Million Agreement For Community Development Projects

Furthering the bilateral engagement and cooperation, India and Maldives yesterday (23 July) signed an agreement for a grant of $4.5 million to implement community development projects in the island nation, reports Hindustan Times.

The agreement was signed between Union External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and his Maldivian counterpart Abdulla Shahid, who is presently on a three-day-long visit to India. It should be noted that Shahid is also the president-elect of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Taking to Twitter, Dr Jaishankar described the community projects in the Maldives as “Neighbourhood first in action”. He added that he had a “warm meeting” with Shahid and discussed the priorities of his presidency at the UNGA.

Meanwhile, it should be noted that the island nation of Maldives has benefited significantly from large India-backed infrastructure projects worth as much as $2 billion.

The smaller high impact community development projects are a vital part of India’s cooperation with the Maldives. The agreement signed by the ministers will lead to an additional outlay of MVR 70 million for projects, which local councils will implement.