India to hand over tourism training facility to Maldives during FM visit

India will hand over a tourism training facility and a landing craft to the Maldives government during the visit of Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid this week, local media reported on Monday. Indian High Commissioner to the Maldives Rajeev Shahare had told local media outlet Haveeru that Khurshid's visit on Tuesday would be an important opportunity to carry forward the matters agreed upon during President Abdulla Yameen's visit to India in January. The visit would also help strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries, he had added. An Indian-built tourism faculty would be handed over to the Maldives National University and the naval landing craft to the Maldivian army, at a ceremony to be held on Wednesday. Khurshid will also meet Maldives President Abdulla Yameen, his counterpart Minister Dunya Maumoon and other top level government officials for talks during the visit. He would also attend the 25th session of the SAARC Council of Ministers to be held on Thursday, the high commissioner said. India had an uneasy relationship with Male after the toppling of former President Mohamed Nasheed in 2012 who was seen as very supportive of India. The previous government's decision in 2012 to prematurely terminate the contract with India's GMR Group and expropriate the airport had sparked a diplomatic row with India which had threatened the long-standing relations between the two countries. Shortly after the termination of the GMR contract, India had tightened the free on arrival visa granted to Maldivians by warning that Maldivians travelling to India for purposes other than tourism on a tourist visa could face deportation. But India was swift to congratulate new president Yameen after he won the presidential runoff in November last year, and said it looks forward to cooperating with him and his government. After President Yameen's visit to India in January, India has lifted the restrictions on visa and construction aggregate import. Both countries have also pledged to deepened relations.