New Delhi (NVI): India and Maldives have signed an “air bubble” agreement to facilitate the movement of people between the two countries amid the Covid-19 pandemic. With this, Maldives has become the sixth country with which India has signed the deal.
As per the Air bubble deal, citizens are allowed to travel between the specified countries freely without having to undergo on-arrival quarantine.
Today’s announcement was made after the video conference between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid.
India also announced a new Indian Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 400 million along with a grant component of USD 100 million for the Greater Male Connectivity Project.
This will be the single-largest infrastructure project in the Maldives and will link Male with Villingili, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi islands.
Apart from Maldives, India currently has allowed travel to the US, the UK, Germany, France and Kuwait, and is in talks with Canada for a similar travel arrangement.
-ARK
