Maldives: Ajit Doval attends 5th NSA-level meeting; seeks to strengthen regional security

The National Security Advisor(NSA) Ajit Doval participated in the fifth NSA-level meeting of the Colombo Security Council held on 9 and 10 March in Male. NSA Ajit Doval in a statement urged the member states to strengthen cooperation amongst maritime neighbours to address shared security challenges.

The participants of the members agreed to strengthen regional security in areas like "maritime safety and security countering terrorism and radicalisation," according to the joint statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs. The member states also decided to bolster efforts for "combatting trafficking and transnational organised crime, cybersecurity, protection of critical infrastructure and technology as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief." 

Member states agree to strengthen regional security

The NSAs of all the five countries discussed the roadmap for facilitating mechanisms for capacity building and boosting information flow between member states.

During the fifth NSA-level meeting of the Colombo Security Council, the delegations from the five countries agreed to continue their joint efforts for ensuring regional peace and security. It is to mention here that the meeting was earlier called the Trilateral for Maritime Security Cooperation, according to ANI. However, at the fourth NSA-level meeting of the Trilateral Meeting held in Colombo in 2020, India, Sri Lanka and the Maldives agreed to enhance the membership of the group and rename it. As per the ANI report, the next meeting is scheduled to be held in India at the deputy NSA level.

NSA Ajit Doval meets Maldives Defence Minister 

Apart from attending the NSA-level meeting of the Colombo Security Council, Ajit Doval also met Maldives Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi, the Indian Embassy in the Maldives informed in a tweet. During the meeting, he congratulated Maldives Defence Minister for successfully hosting the Colombo Security Council meeting. In his meeting with Maldives Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi, Doval highlighted India's commitment to bolstering "time-tested bilateral security partnership." He called on working closely to enhance regional security.

Mariya Ahmed Didi, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Maldives, General Kamal Gunaratne (Retd.), Secretary to the Ministry of Defence of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Kumaresan Ilango, National Security Adviser to the Republic of Mauritius and Ajit Doval attended the security meeting.

Apart from Doval, the meeting was attended by National Security Advisors and representatives from Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mauritius. The meeting included delegations from Bangladesh and Seychelles as observers, according to the joint statement released by the Ministry of External Affairs. During the security meeting, the member states agreed to further strengthen cooperation. The delegation from Bangladesh was led by Tarique Ahmed Siddique, Defence and Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh and Simon Archange Dine, Chief of Staff of Seychelles Defence Forces. 

Inputs from ANI

Image: Twitter/@HCIMaldives