Major Indian navy fleet due in Maldives - Haveeru Online, Feb 10, 2016 |
A major fleet from the Indian navy will arrive in Maldives next week, the Indian high commission in Male announced Tuesday. In a statement, the high commission said India’s largest naval ship, the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, will arrive in Male on a goodwill visit to Maldives from February 15-18. INS Vikramaditya will be accompanied by two ships, INS Mysore and INS Deepak, it said. “The visit to Maldives by INS Vikramaditya, as a part of her first overseas trip, is a manifestation of the close maritime cooperation and mutual trust between India and Maldives,” the statement read. INS Deepak had visited the Maldives in December 2014 to provide drinking water during the Male water crisis. According to the high commission, the ships would be open for public visits for all Maldivians and Indians on February 16 and 17. Interested persons can collect passes from the high commission from Thursday on a first-come-first-serve basis, it said. The visit by an unprecedented fleet of Indian military might to the Maldives follows intensified efforts by both the Maldives and India to improve relations. Late last month India agreed to donate a utility aircraft and another helicopter to the Maldives. India had donated two utility helicopters to the Maldives in 2010. Both the choppers are operated out of the domestic airport in the southern island of Kahdhoo in Laamu atoll. India granted more than US$240,000 (MVR3.8 million) to the Maldives in December to establish facilities to operate and maintain the two helicopters. |
High Commission of India Male, Maldives |
