During his trip to the Maldives on Saturday, the first since assuming office in his second term, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a strong pitch for a worldwide initiative to tackle the threat of terrorism.
Here are 7 takeaways from his Male trip:
1. Modi suggested a global conference to deal with terrorism.
2. The global meet can only lead to a meaningful and result-oriented discussion to plug loopholes that terror elements and their supporters exploit, he said.
3. “Terrorism is not just a threat for a country, but to the entire civilization,” he said at the Maldivian Parliament.
4. The PM’s visit to the island nations in the Indian Ocean region, shortly after assuming office, indicates India’s clear intention of countering the growing influence of China in the region.
5. During his visit to Male, the National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG), India’s leading civil services training institution, entered into an agreement with the Maldives Civil Services Commission. Under this agreement, India will support a capacity-building exercise of 1,000 civil servants from the Maldives over the next five years. NCGG will be the nodal institution for designing customised training modules and its implementation, taking into account the requirements of the Maldives Civil Services Commission.
6. A technical agreement on sharing shipping information between the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defence Force was also signed.
7. Establishment of passenger and cargo services by sea was also agreed upon between the two nations.
