MALE, Jul 23 : India's top diplomat to the Maldives, G Balasubramaniam, met with the Male city mayor on Thursday to strengthen bilateral cooperation and explore new collaborations in areas of mutual interest, according to an official statement.
"We look forward to working closely with @MaleCitymv to deepen bilateral cooperation & pursue initiatives that benefit the people of Male, further strengthening the enduring partnership," the Indian Embassy here said in a post on X.
The Indian envoy paid a courtesy visit, according to the Male city council.
Indian High Commissioner Balasubramanian met Male's Mayor Adam Azim to discuss improving the city's infrastructure and increasing the capital city council's capacity, media portal sun.mv reported.
Mayor Azim expressed gratitude towards India for its historical aid, while naming human resource development as his top priority, the report added.
He also requested urgent training for preschool and special education needs teachers.
Balasubramaniam pledged expanded training via India's ITEC scheme. This comes after India provided professional training to 15 Male city council employees over the past two years, the media portal said.
Both sides held discussions to establish sister-city links with the Chennai Corporation, with future joint community initiatives including the procurement of outdoor gym equipment and the setup of public reading zones across the capital.
The Indian envoy expressed gratitude to Mayor Azim for the welcome and productive discussions. (PTI)
