India has signed a 50 million dollar Line of Credit agreement in the defence sector with the Maldives. External Affair Minister S Jaishankar, said that the agreement will facilitate capability building in the maritime domain. The credit line agreement for defence projects was signed between the Finance Ministry of Maldives and the Export-Import Bank of India to boost the maritime capabilities of the strategically vital Indian Ocean island nation.
Dr Jaishankar also co-signed the UTF Harbour Project agreement with Maldives Defence Minister Mariya Didi. He said that the project agreement will strengthen Maldivian Coast Guard capability and facilitate regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief efforts. The minister said that India and Maldives are partners in development as well as partners in security. The Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard Harbour will come up at Sifavaru. India also extended a new line of credit of US dollar 40 million for the development of new sports infrastructure in the Maldives.