A webinar and expo between India and the Maldives was held on Wednesday. The Theme of webinar was ‘Joint Indo-Maldives High Level Defence Engagement’. It was organised under the aegis of Department of Defence Production (DDP), Ministry of Defence (MoD) through Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).This webinar is the part of Aero India 21 series of webinars which is being organised to boost defence cooperation and engagements with friendly foreign countries.
Both sides spoke about close, cordial and multi-dimensional relationship between the countries. Additional Secretary (DP) Sanjay Jaju mentioned that India has a pre‐eminent position in the Maldives and, in accordance with the “Neighbourhood First” policy of the government, the country remains a committed development partner for a stable, prosperous and peaceful Maldives. Jaju further said that Indian ecosystem is fast progressing in realising the dream of an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ through the government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ initiative. Self-reliant India or the Aatmanirbhar Bharat program is not inward-looking but it is to create an ecosystem where India is integrated with the global ecosystem. It is about producing cost effective quality products not just to meet the domestic requirements but also cater to the requirement of the world, especially the friendly nations, including the Maldives.
During the webinar, the MNDF made a detailed presentation on their requirements and 11 Indian Defence Companies Bharat Electronics Limited, Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), Mahindra Defence System Ltd, MKU Limited, SMPP, Ordnance Factory Board, Bharat Earth Movers Limited, Zen Technologies Ltd, Larsen & Toubro and Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd highlighted their capabilities, product offerings and solutions.
Chief of Defence Force of Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) Major General Abdulla Shamaal, High Commissioner of India to the Maldives Sunjay Sudhir and other senior MoD officials from both sides participated in the webinar. The webinar was also attended by more than 375 participants and 41 virtual exhibition stalls have been set up in the Expo.