Boat Stamps, Sapling & BHISHM Cubes Take Centre Stage At PM Modi–President Muizzu Meet In Maldives
PM Modi and Maldivian President discussed trade, defence, and infrastructure. They released a stamp for 60 years of ties, planted saplings, and opened a Defence Ministry building.
PM Modi in Maldives: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held wide-ranging talks with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, focusing on consolidating cooperation in areas of trade, defence and infrastructure, marking a major turnaround in the ties after a spell of unease.
While addressing a joint press conference with Muizzu in Male, PM Modi declared that ties between India and Maldives will 'always remain bright and clear".
After concluding the delegation-level talks, both the leaders released a stamp to mark 60 years of diplomatic ties between two nations. PM Modi noted that the ties between two nations are getting stronger with the passage of time.
'Commemorating a very cherished friendship! President Muizzu and I released a stamp to mark 60 years of India-Maldives friendship. Our ties are getting stronger with the passage of time and are benefitting the people of our nations," he said in a post on X.
Commemorating a very cherished friendship!President Muizzu and I released a stamp to mark 60 years of India-Maldives friendship. Our ties are getting stronger with the passage of time and are benefitting the people of our nations. @MMuizzu pic.twitter.com/KW8gmbNidh
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 25, 2025
Further emphasising on the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation, PM Modi and President Muizzu planted saplings, promoting Modi's 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' (a tree for Mother) initiative and pledge of 5 million Tree Plantation of the Maldives Government.
'India and the Maldives fully understand the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation. And, we are committed to doing everything possible to boost sustainability. This evening in Malé, President Muizzu and I planted saplings, strengthening 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam' (a tree for Mother) initiative and Pledge of 5 million Tree Plantation of the Maldives Government," PM Modi said on X.
India and the Maldives fully understand the challenges of climate change and environmental degradation. And, we are committed to doing everything possible to boost sustainability.This evening in Malé, President Muizzu and I planted saplings, strengthening 'Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam'… pic.twitter.com/1mQKMOIIbd
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 25, 2025
They also inaugurated new building of the Ministry of Defence in Malé.
Additionally, reaffirming New Delhi's partnership in service of the people, PM Modi presented Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) cubes to President Muizzu as a symbol of India's commitment to timely and compassionate healthcare support.
'Presented BHISHM cubes to President Muizzu, reaffirming our partnership in service of the people. Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) is a symbol of India's commitment to timely and compassionate healthcare support. These deployable medical cubes carry essential medicines and equipment for emergency care," he said.
Presented BHISHM cubes to President Muizzu, reaffirming our partnership in service of the people. Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita & Maitri (BHISHM) is a symbol of India's commitment to timely and compassionate healthcare support. These deployable medical cubes carry… pic.twitter.com/zcld8DAu50 — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 25, 2025
Diplomatic Talks
PM Modi and President Muizzu reviewed the full spectrum of bilateral cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening ties.
During their meeting, the leaders focused on enhancing cooperation across key sectors including trade, defence, infrastructure, and climate action.
A key outcome of the meeting was the announcement of the launch of negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the Maldives. Both sides also agreed to speed up work on a Bilateral Investment Treaty to encourage cross-border investments.
In a move to boost trade efficiency, PM Modi announced plans for a local currency settlement system that would allow direct trade using the Indian Rupee (INR) and the Maldivian Rufiyaa (MVR).
'With the local currency settlement system, we will be able to have direct trade between the Rupee and the Rufiyaa," PM Modi said.
Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from geopolitics to diplomacy and global trends. Stay informed with the latest world news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated!
view comments
Location :
Male, Maldives
First Published:
Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hindustan Times
6 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
PM Modi's 'Brahmos' warning to Pakistan: 'Missiles being manufactured in UP'
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday issued a stern warning to Pakistan, asserting that any future act of terror would be met with decisive retaliation using India's indigenous weapon systems. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi(Screengrab from ANI) In a strongly worded address in Uttar Pradesh' Varanasi, Modi announced, 'BrahMos missiles will now be manufactured in Lucknow…and if Pakistan commits any sin again, missiles made in UP will destroy the terrorists.' The Prime Minister further hailed the indigenous weapons used during recently concluded Operation Sindoor. He said, 'During Operation Sindoor, the world saw the capabilities of our indigenous weapons. Our Air Defence Systems, missiles, and drones have proved the strength of 'Atmanirbhar Bharat', especially the BrahMos missiles.' Modi said, "In Pakistan, even hearing the name 'BrahMos' is enough to keep them awake at night." He added, 'Many major defence firms are setting up their manufacturing plants in the UP Defence Corridor. Made in India weapons will soon become the strength of our forces.' He emphasized that Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a major defence manufacturing hub and sent a clear message: 'If Pakistan commits any sin again, the missiles made in UP will destroy the terrorists.'
Indian Express
6 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Even before Trump's ‘penalty' threat, Indian refiners began cutting down on Russian oil imports
Amid increasing pressure on India from the US and other Western powers over the past couple of months, Indian refiners — led by public sector players — began cutting down on Russian oil imports, much before US President Donald Trump's announcement earlier this week of an unspecified tariff 'penalty' on New Delhi for its defence and energy imports from Moscow. Latest vessel tracking data shows that July deliveries of Russian crude — which would have been contracted May or early June — to Indian refiners fell significantly. Industry and trade sources also indicated that Indian public sector refiners have, for the time being, halted future contracting of Russian oil, the mainstay of India's oil imports for the better part of the past three years. Trump has now said that he 'heard' that India will no longer be buying oil from Russia, calling it a 'good step', but also added that he is not sure if the information is 'right or not'. 'Well, I understand India no longer is going to be buying oil from Russia. That's what I heard. I don't know if that's right or not, but that's a good step. We'll see what happens,' Trump told reporters in the US on Friday. Meanwhile, India — the world's third-largest consumer of crude oil with an import dependency level of over 85 per cent — continues to maintain that its oil purchases are commercial decisions. 'We take decisions based on the price at which oil is available in the international market and depending on the global situation at that time,' Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Friday in response to a question on whether Indian refiners have stopped buying Russian oil over the past few days. Industry insiders, experts, and trade sources indicate that renewed pressure and threats from the US and Europe over the past few weeks have cast a shadow on India's Russian oil imports, and could mark the beginning of Indian refiners pivoting away from Moscow's oil. So far, India had successfully managed to walk 'the fine line between energy security and geopolitical pressure', but its options now appeared limited, one expert said, adding that Indian refiners 'must now plan not just for commercial shifts, but for systemic geopolitical realignment'. Deliberations are on between the government and other stakeholders — primarily refiners — on managing the situation and assessing the choices on the table for India, sources said. With a pre-emptive reduction in Russian oil imports, some bit of signaling has already taken place. The next steps would most likely be decided on how the India-US dynamic evolves, and more importantly, whether or not Trump decides to further harden the American stance and rhetoric against Russia. Any breakthrough between the White House and Kremlin over the Russia-Ukraine war would most likely ease the pressure on buyers of Russian crude. This renewed pressure from the West — forcing Russia's top trade partners to cut down on imports from the country — are aimed at forcing the Kremlin's hand into ending the war in Ukraine. For Trump, who wants the three-year-old Russia-Ukraine war to end within days, this is an opportune time to pressurise countries like India and China over their Russian imports, given the sensitive trade negotiations that these countries are holding with the US. India's Russian oil imports in July were at 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd), down 24 per cent from June levels, and 23.5 per cent from volumes delivered in July of last year, according to latest tanker data from global real-time data and analytics provider Kpler. The share of Russian crude in India's oil import basket in July contracted notably to around 33.8 per cent from July's 44.5 per cent. While the drop in oil imports from Russia is evidently more pronounced among Indian state-owned refiners, likely reflecting heightened compliance sensitivity amid mounting risks, private sector refiners—who account for over half of Russian crude imports, have also reduced exposure to Moscow's oil. The reduction in import volumes from Russia in July was offset by higher crude deliveries from other suppliers — mainly Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the US, Nigeria, and Kuwait — all of which expanded their share in India's oil imports vis-à-vis June levels. With much of the West shunning Russian crude following the country's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia began offering discounts on its oil to willing buyers. Indian refiners were quick to avail the opportunity, leading to Russia — earlier a peripheral supplier of oil to India — emerging as India's biggest source of crude, displacing the traditional West Asian suppliers. While the discounts have varied over time, Russian oil flows to India largely remained robust despite Western pressure and limited sanctions on Russia's oil trading ecosystem. But the appears to be changing now, and fast. 'On one side, the EU's (European Union's) sanctions — effective from January 2026 — ban imports of refined products derived from Russian-origin crude, forcing Indian refiners to segment crude intake and product flows. On the other hand, the US tariff threat raises the possibility of secondary sanctions that would directly hit the shipping, insurance, and financing lifelines underpinning India's Russian oil trade. Together, these measures sharply curtail India's crude procurement flexibility, raise compliance risk, and introduce significant cost uncertainty…(it) represents a double whammy for Indian refiners,' said Sumit Ritloia, Lead Research Analyst, Refining & Modeling at Kpler. Before this week's tariff announcement by Trump mentioning a 'penalty' on India, India's significant Russian oil imports were being subjected to a more aggressive stance by Western powers for a few weeks. Trump himself had had threatened 'biting' secondary tariffs of 100 per cent on buyers of Russian exports, and the European Union last month announced a sanctions package, widely seen as the most comprehensive effort yet by the EU to restrict Russia's revenue stream, placing a ban on import of fuels into Europe if made from Russian oil in third countries like India, and also sanctioning Indian refiner Nayara Energy, in which Russian oil giant Rosneft holds 49.13 per cent stake. According to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, the massive market share of Russian crude in India's oil imports doesn't mean that India is dependent on Russia for oil, and other suppliers can quickly come in to replace Russian volumes if there is any major disruption. 'I don't feel any pressure in my mind. India has diversified the sources of supply… I'm not worried at all. If something happens, we'll deal with it…there is sufficient supply available,' Puri had said at an event earlier in July. He added that India in recent years has expanded its crude sourcing slate from 27 countries to around 40 countries, and enough oil was available globally for India to buy and ensure energy security. If India indeed decides to shift away from Russian crude, industry insiders and experts expect New Delhi to negotiate a potential wind-down period for reducing supplies, as replacing the massive volumes of Russian oil supply overnight is impossible, according to industry insiders. It would take at least three-four months to substantially cut down on imports and shift to other suppliers — mainly in West Asia, but also in Africa, and even the US and Latin America. Loss of discounted Russian barrels would certainly push up the relative cost of imports by a few dollars a barrel, which in turn would inflate India's oil import bill by billions of dollars on an annualised basis. Additionally, if global oil prices rise in the eventuality of most of Russian oil going off the market, the hit for India would be amplified further. 'Replacing Russian crude isn't plug-and-play…it is no easy feat—logistically daunting, economically painful, and geopolitically fraught. Supply substitution may be feasible on paper, but it remains fraught in practice. Gulf barrels come with pricing rigidity, African grades add freight volatility, and Latin American flows face availability constraints,' said Ritolia. India's traditional crude suppliers in West Asia — chiefly Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE — would be the logical fall-back, but Indian refiners will have to grapple with significant constraints as they reduce Russian oil imports. A lot of the crude from West Asia comes through term contracts, unlike spot purchases of Russian crude, which may force Indian refiners to commit to higher annual offtake of West Asian oil, which is more rigidly priced compared to discounted Russian crude. Also, a number of Indian refineries that had gotten attuned to processing Russian crude in large volumes may see an impact on their product yield and refinery configurations due to crude quality mismatch. India is also expected to sustain its ongoing efforts to diversify its sources of crude oil. Geopolitical shifts, freight economics, and refinery economics are expected to continue shaping India's crude sourcing decisions and diversification strategy. Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More
News18
14 minutes ago
- News18
No duty concessions to US on agri, dairy, GM foods: An explainer
Last Updated: New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) India has toughened its stance on extending duty concessions on agri products, dairy and GM foods in the proposed bilateral trade agreement (BTA) with the US. With the US not able to finalise a deal with India so far, US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced imposition of an additional 25 per cent import duty on Indian goods entering American markets from August 7. Earlier, this duty was to be imposed from August 1. The President has also not specified the penalty which he has announced on India for buying crude oil and military equipment from Russia. Here is a list of Q&A (questions and answers) to explain reasons behind India's stand and impact of US tariffs on labour-intensive sectors: * What is the India-US bilateral trade agreement (BTA)? – India and the US entered into negotiations for a fair, balanced and mutually beneficial BTA in March 2025 with a target to complete the first tranche/phase of the pact by fall (October-November) of 2025. So far, five rounds of talks have been completed. For the next round, the US team, headed by Assistant US Trade Representative for South and Central Asia Brendan Lynch, is visiting India from August 25. * What is the aim of the BTA? – Normally in a trade agreement, two trading partners either significantly reduce or eliminate import duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them. Besides, they ease norms to promote trade in services and increase two-way investments. The India-US BTA is aimed at more than doubling the bilateral trade to USD 500 billion by 2030 from the present USD 191 billion. *What are the major demands of the two countries from each other in the BTA? – The US wants duty concessions on certain industrial goods, automobiles, especially electric vehicles, wines, petrochemical products, agri goods, dairy items, apples, tree nuts, and genetically-modified crops. India is seeking the removal of this additional tariff (25 per cent now) and cut in tariffs on steel and aluminium (50 per cent), auto sector (25 per cent), labour-intensive sectors, such as textiles, gems and jewellery, leather goods, garments, plastics, chemicals, shrimp, oil seeds, grapes, and bananas. *How much tariff is imposed by the US on Indian goods at present? – India's average import duty is about 17 per cent, while the US' is 3.3 per cent. On April 2, the US announced to impose 26 per cent duty (16 per cent reciprocal tariff and 10 per cent baseline tariff). At present, only the baseline tariff is in force. It is over and above the existing import duty on Indian goods. For example, before April 2, the Indian textiles were attracting a 6-9 per cent tariff in America. With the baseline tariff, it rose to 16-19 per cent. But from August 7, the sector will attract a 31-34 per cent duty. The baseline tariff will be replaced by 25 per cent duty notified on July 31 by the White House. However, certain products are exempted from these tariffs such as pharmaceutical, electronics and energy products. * From when the 25 per cent duty will come into force? – The duty, announced this week, will come into force from August 7 (9.30 am IST). The executive order has also clarified that goods in transit until October 5, 12:01 am eastern daylight time (EDT), or 09:30 am IST, will be subject to a 10 per cent tariff, provided that such goods have entered into transit before August 7 12:01 am EDT. *Why India is not ready to provide duty concessions on dairy, agri and GM foods? – Agri: Farm livelihoods are at stake. This is a politically and economically sensitive area as over 700 million people in India's rural economy are dependent on the sector. If India removes tariffs, cheap, subsidised US grains could flood Indian markets during global price crashes. Unlike the US, where agriculture is corporatised, Indian farming is a livelihood issue. Tariffs are essential to protect small farmers, manage price volatility, and ensure food security. Dairy: India wants to safeguard its small farmers. GTRI stated that the US argues that India's GM-free feed certification and facility registration protocols effectively bar American dairy imports. 'Indian rules prohibit imports from animals fed with animal-derived feed'�for example, butter from a cow fed meat'�due to religious sensitivities. India considers this policy non-negotiable," GTRI has said. GM Food: These are created by inserting specific genes, often from bacteria, viruses, other plants, or occasionally animals, into a plant's DNA to introduce new traits, such as pest resistance or herbicide tolerance. Allowing the import of GM products such as soybean meal and distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) for animal feed would affect India's agricultural exports to the EU, a key destination for Indian exporters. PTI RR ANU ANU view comments First Published: August 02, 2025, 13:15 IST News agency-feeds No duty concessions to US on agri, dairy, GM foods: An explainer Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
