The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Dr Abdulla Khaleel, departed for India on an official visit to lead the Second Meeting of the High-Level Core Group (HLCG) between the Maldives and India. The two-day visit comes as both nations continue efforts to deepen ties under a strategic framework agreed last year.
Scheduled to take place on 26 May 2025 at India’s Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, the meeting will focus on implementing the “Maldives and India: Vision for Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership”. This framework was established following talks between President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2024.
The agenda of the HLCG meeting spans a wide range of areas, including transport and connectivity, agriculture, fisheries, trade, economic cooperation, health, people-to-people linkages, capacity building and training, and defence and security collaboration.
The first meeting of the Core Group was held in Malé on 29 January 2025.
During the visit, Minister Khaleel will also hold bilateral talks with his Indian counterpart, Dr S. Jaishankar, to assess the overall state of Maldives–India relations. The ministers are expected to exchange views on key regional and international developments.
Accompanying Minister Khaleel is a high-level delegation that includes senior officials from the President’s Office, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Construction, Housing and Infrastructure, Ministry of Finance and Planning, Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, and the Ministry of Homeland Security and Technology.
The meetings come at a time when both nations are recalibrating their strategic partnership, with renewed focus on economic cooperation and regional security.
