India and the Maldives have decided to ramp up cooperation in various fields including defence, security, energy and health as the two nations restarted the Joint Commission talks after a hiatus of 15 years.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who is here on a two-day visit, assured the Maldives that India will always be the net security provider to the Indian Ocean archipelago.

However, she stressed that it is also important to insulate both countries from trends towards radicalisation and terrorism.