Bright future for India-Maldives ties, says former President Mohamed Nasheed

Dec 14, 2019

New Delhi, Dec 14 (ANI): Maldives Parliament Speaker and country’s former president, Mohamed Nasheed, has affirmed that the governments of India and Maldives are "on the same page" and the future of ties between the two countries is "bright". "We have declared an India first foreign policy. India has been next to us since time immemorial. We read the same book. We eat the same food. We watch the same films, we do the same things. We are the same people," Nasheed told ANI. "There are times when perhaps the governments might not be able to get on with each other but I will only consider our relations to be bad if Maldivians stop watching Bollywood. If we stop eating biryani and gulab jamun, then, of course, there is a serious deterioration of relations but that's not happening any time soon," Nasheed said. "Our relationships are very strong and the government is on the same page," the former president further said, adding that the future of India and Maldives is "going to bright".