Male, Mar 26 (PTI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday commended the Maldives' government for implementing its USD-100 million 'climate adaptation' project, promising his counterpart Abdulla Shahid Indian support through credit, grants and development projects.
"I would like to take this opportunity to commend both the governments (India and Maldives) and the people of Maldives for their efforts and ambition in the area of climate change. India stands ready to share its capabilities with the Maldives. We have already engaged in the development of water and sanitation facilities in 34 islands," Jaishankar said at a joint press appearance with the Maldives Foreign Minister.
"But apart from extending basic civic amenities to island communities, the project - which is one of the largest climate adaptive measures going on in the Maldives at a cost of USD 100 million - I think is very noteworthy," he said.
The 'climate adaptation' project aims to provide safe and secure freshwater to 105,000 people on the outer islands of the Maldives, in response to climate change-induced water shortages. Another key programme in it is the protection of 188 small, inhabited, low-lying islands of Maldives - which are highly vulnerable to severe weather events.
Jaishankar arrived in Male earlier in the evening 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. PTI IND ZH IND
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