Mariya departs on official visit to India

Minister of Defense, Mariya Ahmed Didi and Chief of Defense Force, Major-General Abdulla Shamaal has departed on an official visit to India.

Mariya and Shamaal left on the one-week trip this Wednesday morning.

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) reports Mariya and Shamaal are scheduled to discuss nurturing closer ties with the Indian security forces.

Indian press report Mariya is also scheduled to observe a proposal by Indian government to install a Coastal Radar Surveillance System (CSRR) in Maldives as part of the MoU signed between the two governments for military cooperation in 2016.

Mariya and Shamaal are joined in the official visit by Deputy Director of Department of International Defense Cooperation and Policy of the Ministry of Defense, General Colonel Abdul Matheen Ahmed; and Principal Director of MNDF’s Coastguard, Lieutenant Colonel Mohamed Saleem.