New Delhi, Oct 5 (PTI) India on Thursday said it was looking forward to engaging with the new Maldivian government on all issues, reaffirming its commitment to strengthening the "time-tested" bilateral ties.

The remarks by External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came when asked about Maldivian President-elect Mohamed Muizzu's comments that foreign military forces cannot stay in the Maldives.

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The comments by Muizzu, who defeated incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in the presidential runoff on Saturday, were largely seen as a reference to the Indian military personnel in the island nation.

The Maldivian President-elect is known to be close to China.

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

At his weekly media briefing, Bagchi said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the first leader to convey greetings and felicitations to Muizzu.

"Prime Minister Modi conveyed and reaffirmed India's commitment to strengthening the time-tested India-Maldives bilateral relationship and enhancing overall bilateral cooperation in the Indian Ocean region," Bagchi said.

"Subsequently, our High Commissioner in Male called on the President-elect, and he had a good discussion on various aspects of our bilateral relationship including development cooperation," he said.

Bagchi said India is looking forward to engaging with the new administration in Maldives on all issues.

"The focus of our partnership with Maldives has always been on capacity building and working together to address our shared challenges and priorities," he said.

"As neighbours, we need to collaborate closely to address the challenges confronting our regions such as transnational crimes and Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief (HADR). We look forward to engaging with the new administration in Maldives on all such issues," Bagchi added.

President Solih has consistently been focusing on boosting ties with India and was pursuing an "India First" policy.

In May, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited the Maldives during which he handed over a fast patrol vessel and a landing craft to the island nation.

In August last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldivian President Solih kick-started the India-funded Greater Male connectivity project, billed as the largest infrastructure initiative in the island nation.

Under the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) project, a 6.74 km long bridge and causeway link will be built to connect the capital city Male with adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu and Thilafushi.

The Maldives is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of India's Neighbourhood First policy and Shahid lauded development.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)