On Thursday, President Mohamed Nasheed held meetings with Indian Finance Minister H.E. Mr. P. Chidambaram and External Affairs Minister H.E. Mr. Salman Khursheed.

In his meeting with External Affairs Minister H.E. Mr. Salman Khursheed, President Nasheed requested additional scholarship opportunities from the Indian government for Maldivian students. President Nasheed also discussed potential solutions for difficulties obtaining visas presently faced by Maldivians seeking medical treatment in India.

Following the meeting with the External Affairs Minister, President Nasheed met with the Indian Finance Minister H.E. Mr. P. Chidambaram and discussed the current state of the Maldivian economy. President Nasheed discussed the possibility of securing Indian financial assistance to the Maldives as budget support after the presidential election to put the economy back on track. President Nasheed also noted that a number of infrastructure development projects were stalled because of obstacles to importing construction material such as aggregate and river sand from India. He added that there were also difficulties with importing other goods from India. President Nasheed said he expected a solution to the present difficulties would be found after the presidential election.