The joint exercise ‘Ektah’ 2025 between India and Maldives was held in Maldives. Started in 2017, this year marked the 8th edition of Exercise Ektah.
- Vice Admiral Tarun Sobti, Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS), Indian Navy, is on an official visit to Maldives from December 15 to 17, 2025, to attend the closing ceremony of Exercise Ektah 2025.
- Started in 2017, Exercise Ektah is an annual bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF). The 8th edition of the exercise featured extensive professional interactions aimed at enhancing interoperability and operational synergy.
- Activities included technical and combat diving, boarding operations, firing drills, demolition and explosive handling, asymmetric warfare tactics, and special heli-borne operation drills.
- Upon arriving in Malé, Vice Admiral Sobti met with the Chief of Defence Force of MNDF, Major General Ibrahim Hilmy.
Objective of Joint Exercise ‘Ektah’
- Discussions focused on addressing regional maritime security challenges, enhancing training engagements, strengthening cooperation against narcotics trafficking, and reviewing the progress of ongoing defense projects.
- Ways to further enhance maritime information sharing between the two navies were also discussed. On December 15, 2025, DCNS handed over a consignment of operational spare parts for the MNDF Coast Guard ship Huravi to Major General Ibrahim Hilmy, CDF, MNDF, at a ceremony held on INS Sharada in Malé, Maldives.
- This first visit of the DCNS to Maldives reaffirms the Indian Navy’s unwavering commitment to regional partners and highlights the strong defense and maritime cooperation between India and Maldives in line with India’s vision of ‘Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR)’ and the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.
India and Maldives Other exercises
- The 14th edition of the joint military exercise EKUVERIN-25 between the Indian Army and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) was held in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. EKUVERIN means friend in the Dhivehi language and reflects the strong defense ties between India and Maldives.
- Trilateral exercises such as “Dosti” (involving India, Sri Lanka, and Maldives) are conducted to enhance operational synergy and interoperability.
- India is Maldives’ principal defense partner and first responder in crises, as seen in Operation Cactus (1988) and assistance following the 2004 tsunami. India’s Neighbourhood First and SAGAR vision guide this cooperation.
- The Annual Defence Cooperation Dialogue (DCD), initiated at the Defence Secretary level in 2016, serves as the primary platform to review and guide India–Maldives defense cooperation.
Key facts about Maldives
- It is an independent island nation in the north-central Indian Ocean.
- It consists of a chain of around 1,200 small coral islands and sandbanks (of which about 200 are inhabited), grouped into clusters or atolls.
- Its total land area is 298 sq km.
- It is Asia’s smallest country by area.
- However, the country’s islands are spread across nearly 90,000 sq km of ocean.
- There are no rivers or streams in the country, and the average elevation is less than 2 meters, making it extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise.
- Gan is the largest island of the country.
- Formerly a British colony, Maldives became an independent nation in 1965.
- Capital: Malé.
- Official language: Dhivehi (an Indo-European language); Arabic, Hindi, and English are also spoken. Religion: Islam is the state religion and plays a central role in national governance.
