Nasheed meets PM, seeks early polls in Maldives

India hoped on Monday that engagement with all the stakeholders in Maldives will help bring stability there as former President Mohamed Nasheed met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi to seek intervention to ensure early elections in his country.

Nasheed, who quit on February 7 in the wake of widespread protests and later claimed he was a victim of a coup, has been in New Delhi for nearly a week to garner support for elections in his country this year instead of next year as announced by the Maldivian government.

During his meeting with Singh, he is understood to have impressed on the need for early elections and sought India's help in this regard.

"I will try to tell the Prime Minister why I think elections are necessary and I will seek his assistance in impressing the regime in Maldives on early elections," he had told PTI last week.

"India hopes that engagement with all the stakeholders in Maldives will facilitate a constructive dialogue among all the political parties and help in bringing stability to the country in line with the Roadmap of 16 February 2012 drawn up by the President of Maldives," the Ministry of External Affairs said.

Nasheed had also met National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon and Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai.

The MEA also noted that India and Maldives enjoy very close and cordial relations. "We have extensive cooperation in a number of areas, including trade, investments, connectivity, health, tourism, defence, security, human resource and infrastructure development".

The Coast Guards of the two countries would be carrying out annual joint exercise named 'DOSTI-XI' later this month, it said, adding India remains committed to further strengthening and expanding the multifaceted relationship with Maldives.