Foreign secretary visits ‘troubled’ Maldives, calls on its President

NEW DELHI: With

Maldives

plunging into fresh political uncertainty, foreign secretary S Jaishankar paid on Thursday a “courtesy call” on President Abdulla Yameen in Male.

With four opposition parties, including former President Mohamed Nasheed’s

Maldivian Democratic Party

(MDP), joining hands to form a formidable alliance against the government, Yameen’s position has appeared increasingly shaky in the past few weeks. The opposition has accused him of using the cops to harass and intimidate its leaders.

While India did not say anything officially about the meeting, Maldives said in a statement that Yameen expressed “sincere appreciation for the continued support and assistance provided by the Government of India”.

“President also expressed his firm commitment to further elevate existing relations through different avenues of cooperation. In this regard, the President noted that commercial relations between the two countries would further enhance the greater economic cooperation and development,” said the statement.