India and the Maldives held discussions to explore new areas for economic cooperation and improve trade, according to the state-run media report on Saturday.

The talks on boosting trade took place in Malé on Friday during a meeting between India’s Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal and Maldivian Economic Development and Trade Minister Mohamed Saeed.

This meeting was held at the Maldivian Economic Ministry as part of Barthwal’s visit and focused on identifying fresh economic opportunities and building on the existing trade relationship, as reported by Public Service Media PSM News.

After the meeting, Saeed posted on X saying, "Had a productive meeting today with India's Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal. We talked about deepening trade and investment ties between our countries and new areas of economic cooperation."

The Department of Commerce under India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry also posted on X, stating Barthwal had "a constructive" meeting with Saeed, to increase trade and investment relations and new avenues for economic cooperation between the two nations."

As part of recent efforts to attract Indian investment, business forums were held in three Indian cities to showcase investment possibilities in the Maldives, according to PSM News.

India continues to be one of the Maldives’ key development partners and has supported a number of infrastructure and capacity-building projects, as stated in the report. The Indian government has also extended a currency swap facility worth $ 25.94 million to support the Maldivian economy.

On May 26, India and the Maldives also discussed the possibility of deepening trade and strategic cooperation during a three-day visit by Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdulla Khaleel, who was accompanied by a high-level delegation to New Delhi to assess the progress of their wide-ranging economic and maritime security partnership. This partnership was agreed upon during Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s trip to New Delhi in October last year.

Relations between the two countries grew tense after Muizzu, who is seen as pro-China, became president in November 2023.

Just hours after taking the oath, Muizzu demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the Maldives. Those personnel were later replaced with civilians on a date agreed by both governments.

Relations started to improve again when Muizzu said he would work to strengthen ties with India during his visit to Delhi in October 2024.

The Maldives remains a key maritime neighbour for India and is an important part of India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and its Vision MAHASAGAR, which stands for Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions.