India has a 'bigger heart', always assisted Maldives in tough situations: FM Abdulla Shahid

Lauding India for having a "bigger heart", Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid on Wednesday said that New Delhi has always come forward to provide assistance to the island nation during difficult situations.

"...If you look at difficult situations that the Maldives had in past and at which country came to Maldives' assistance, India has been the first country to come to our assistance, every time," Shahid told ANI, adding that "India has a bigger heart".

Asserting that India and Maldives have excellent relations, the foreign minister said, "During the past year, our two government and people have seen that together we can do so many things. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at the inauguration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. President Solih was in Delhi on 17 December 2018. One month to the date of his inauguration. PM Modi was in Male after his re-election. PM Modi and president Solih also met in New York."

When asked if China is playing a bigger role than India in Male, the foreign minister said that President Solih-led government is not in the "business to play one against the other" and "all you have to do is look at the track record of where India is and where China is."

Shahid is in India to attend Joint Commission between Maldives and India. He is also scheduled to meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishnakar.

"I am in Delhi to attend Joint Commission between India and Maldives. The Commission is supposed to meet every two years, but last time it was held in 2015 due to some reasons. Joint Commission is important in order to have bilateral relations in a more structured manner," he said.

"We will be meeting S Jaishankar and I will be reviewing the work that has been done in the past year and also set agenda for next two years, " he added.