Maldivian President to visit India on April 10

New Delhi:  Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom will arrive in India on April 10 on a two-day visit during which he will hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the two sides work towards ramping up bilateral cooperation.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup said Gayoom's official delegation includes Minister of Foreign Affairs Dunya Maumoon, Minister of Fisheries and Agriculture Mohamed Shainee and three members of the Maldivian Parliament.

Gayoon will meet Modi and later take part in a working lunch with the PM on April 11.

He will call on President Pranab Mukherjee the same evening. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's meeting with Gayoom would start the programme on the morning of April 11.

Amid concerns over militant groups like ISIS attempting to radicalise the citizens of the archipelago nation, Maldives is in talks with India for setting up a bilateral counter-terrorism mechanism.

India and Maldives commemorated 50 years of diplomatic relations last year.

President Gayoom's first state visit after assumption of office was to India in January 1-4, 2014. He was among the SAARC leaders who had attended the swearing-in of Modi in May, 2014.

Swaraj had visited Maldives in November 2014 and again in October 2015 for the India-Maldives Joint Commission which was held after 15 years.