Male [Maldives], November 17 (ANI): Union Minister of Earth Sciences, Kiren Rijiju, here on Friday reviewed the ongoing work on the Greater Male Connectivity project being built under the Government of India's concessional Line of Credit and Grant.

Minister Rijiju shared a video of himself sailing in a boat with the concerned officials, who were seen briefing the minister about the project and its ongoing progress in Maldives.

The minister shared a video on X, saying, "Glad to witness the progress of works of Greater Male Connectivity Project in Maldives. Project is being undertaken under the Govt of India's concessional Line of Credit and Grant and is expected to usher economic development and prosperity in the Greater Male Region."Earlier in August, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Maldivian P'esident Ibrahim Mohamed Solih launched the 'Greater Male connectivity projects in the Maldives" and also entered pacts in areas like cyber security, disaster management, and police infrastructure development.

The Male connectivity projects will be built under India's USD 100 million grant and USD 400 million line of Credit. India also extended a USD 100 million line of credit for development projects in the Maldives. Both countries exchanged six documents on areas like cyber security, disaster management, and police infrastructure development.

Later on, Kiren Rijiju called on the Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe and discussed the India-Sri Lanka bilateral relationship.

Taking to X, the Minister shared about his meeting saying, "Honoured to call on President of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka H.E. @RW_UNP Discussed India-Sri Lanka Bilateral Relationship which is multi-dimensional and a priority under Hon'ble PM @narendramodi's NeigbourhoodFirst and SAGAR Policy."Earlier today, Union Minister Rijiju discussed the "multifaceted partnership" between India and Maldives, acknowledging the "tremendous progress" achieved in recent years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and outgoing Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Minister Rijiju landed in Maldives on Thursday to attend the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Mohamed Muizzu.

Maldives is India's key neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region and occupies a special place in India's Neighbourhood First Policy. In recent years, the partnership has witnessed rapid growth in all areas of cooperation.

For India, the Maldives has always been a close and important maritime neighbour. Multifaceted ties between the two countries have strengthened despite the pandemic-related disruptions.

India's "Neighborhood First" policy and Maldives's "India First" policy work in tandem to tackle shared concerns and advance mutual interests. (ANI)