'Time-tested' India-Maldives relationship a 'force for stability': Jaishankar

Male, Mar 26: Describing the "time-tested" relationship between India and the Maldives as a "force for stability" in the region, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Saturday that the shared responsibility of the two countries is to nurture and strengthen it.

Speaking at a joint press conference alongside Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, Jaishankar also said the bilateral relationship is poised for a quantum jump to touch the lives of the people of the two countries like never before.

"This is a partnership that tackles common challenges...It is a force for stability in the region. It is our shared responsibility to nurture and strengthen it," said Jaishankar, who arrived here earlier in the day as part of his five-day two-nation visit to the Maldives and Sri Lanka to explore the possibilities of further expansion of bilateral engagements with the two key maritime neighbours of India.

The Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and the bilateral defence and security ties have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.