Ministry of Foreign Affairs has revealed that the Maldives and India exchanged the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters today.

This is the first Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty signed by the Maldives.

Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid and Prosecutor General Aishath Bisam participated in the exchange event on behalf of the Maldives. Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Indian Ambassador to the Maldives Sunjay Sudhir participated on behalf of India.

"Through the Treaty both countries agreed to extend assistance and support in investigating and prosecuting criminal matters," the Ministry said in a tweet.

The scope of the treaty covers the facilitation of the widest measures of mutual assistance in the service of summons, execution of warrants and other judicial documents and commissions, in accordance with the treaty and subject to the domestic laws of participating States. It also includes improving the effectiveness of both countries in the prevention, investigation and prosecution of crime, including crime related to terrorism and tracing, restraints forfeiture or confiscation of funds meant for financing of terrorism as also the proceeds and instruments of crime, through cooperation and mutual legal assistance in criminal matters.

The mechanism for mutual legal assistance is set down in the Mutual Legal Assistance Act (No. 2/2015) and that the government has been making use of that mechanism since 2015.