India, Maldives sign health & education pacts as New Delhi looks to bolster ties

Following the bilateral talks, Jaishankar said: “I return to the Maldives after more than a year and the time in between, despite Covid, has witnessed fast-paced progress in our relationship. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, our cooperation has actually witnessed and withstood the arc and anguish of the pandemic.”

He added that they had wide-ranging discussions on bilateral partnership and also took stock of ongoing projects and initiatives across different sectors. “We looked at socio-economic development, trade and investment, and also tourism,” Jaishankar said.

Calling the development partnership the “central pillar of the relationship”, the Minister said: “It is a very transparent partnership, driven directly by Maldivian needs and priorities. Today, it ranges upwards of $2.6 billion in terms of grants, concessional loans, budgetary support and capacity building and training assistance.”

Maldives Foreign minister Shahid said, “You’ve made history, Minister Jaishankar. This is the first time official talks have been held outside of the Capital City Male’.” He said that “fortifying & building on the long-standing ties is one of the top foreign policy priorities of President Solih’s administration.”

He said that the “Maldives welcomes India’s “Neighborhood First Policy” under which we have gained immense socio-economic benefits. And we remain committed to our “India First Policy”.”

“Our relationship is one that has stood the test of time, and one that will continue to flourish. I thank India for the assistance it has provided throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. We remain grateful that we can always rely on India during times of need. Both our countries have experienced the hardships and tragedies of the pandemic, but we are emerging stronger together.”

“I thank the Government and the people of India, for standing in solidarity with us, and for being our friend and partner throughout the years. May the close bonds between our two countries continue to grow deeper and stronger,” Shahid said.

Shahid’s words assume significance at a time when the opposition party in Maldives, led by former President Abdulla Yameen, has spearheaded an anti-India campaign.

With regard to Addu, a city in the southernmost atoll of the Indian Ocean archipelago, External Affairs minister Jaishankar said that India is supporting projects in a range of sectors – infrastructure, tourism, fish processing and health. “Work has commenced on Addu Roads projects, as also on the 4000 housing units, the drinking water and sanitation,” he said.

Addu is a stronghold of the Maldivian National Party and former President Mohamed Nasheed, who is Speaker of the Majlis, the country’s Parliament. He is a vocal supporter of close ties with India.

Talking about their discussions on strategic issues, Jaishankar said: “We have also had a discussion on regional security and maritime safety issues, I think that the threat of transnational crimes and terrorism and drug trafficking is indeed very serious. In this context, I’m very pleased to see that our capacity building and cooperation and training have expanded in this. I think it is for both of us, strengthens our defence and security.”

He said that the National College of Policing and Law Enforcement (NCPLE), which will be inaugurated on Sunday, is India’s largest grant funded project in Maldives, and prior to the Greater Male Connectivity Project. “It will assist the Maldives Police Service (MPS) to train its officers and enhance its crime-fighting capacities for the years to come. We are also signing an MoU for capacity building between the Maldives Police and our National Police Academy,” he said, adding that on Sunday, they will also be handing over formally, the Coastal Radar System which is already operational and will help in enhancing maritime security.

Jaishankar said that the iconic Greater Male Connectivity Project holds the potential of actually transforming the transport landscape of the capital. “It gives me great pleasure in recognising the progress we have made on this project and we have moved from the level of concept to preliminary works in less than two years, that too during the years of Covid. Geo-technical surveys are ongoing. I hope we can do a ground-breaking in the coming months,” he said.

He said that the Hanimaadhoo Airport Redevelopment Project, the expansion of facilities of MIFCO, the cricket stadium, and the social housing projects have all seen momentum in implementation in the past year.

“I am pleased to hear that the DPR of USD 40 million Sports Line of Credit announced when I was here in February last year is near completion. Under this LOC, the National Stadium will be renovated and sports infrastructure would be built across Maldives,” the External Affairs minister said.

Talking about the strides made in the fields of capacity building and training, he said, “I am, of course, delighted to join you in the inauguration of the National Knowledge Network (NKN). And, with the signing of the Peering Agreement today, over 1500 Indian institutes and a host of universities and centres of learning from Singapore, Europe and the United Stated are now connected to the Maldives. The NKN is a real expression of the best of our regional cooperation in the digital and education arenas.”

The two sides signed a pact paving the way for connectivity between the Higher Education Network of Maldives and the National Knowledge Network of India, and this network is expected to enable access to digital libraries and networking sources for students and professionals of Maldivian educational institutes.

The two sides also signed an agreement for reciprocal recognition of Covid vaccination certificate that is expected to facilitate easier travel between the Maldives and India, further strengthening people-to-people exchanges.

“Our cooperation during the pandemic has displayed solidarity, solidarity in terms of the design, the speed, the scale of our response. And when I hear of your model of dealing with Covid, quite honestly, we share your satisfaction. Today’s Agreement on the mutual recognition of COVID-19 certificates is a step forward in the same direction and will certainly contribute to easier travel between us,” Jaishankar said.

In this context, Jaishankar flagged the “the steady growth of our tourism and I think we are among the top sources of tourists in 2020 and 2021”. “And I assure you we’ll make all the efforts and give all the encouragement to keep that position in the coming year. We are also glad that at a time of global uncertainty and volatility, we have been able to consistently keep up supplies of essential commodities to Maldives,” he said.

Commending both the governments and the people of Maldives for their efforts and ambition in the area of climate change, he said that India stands ready to share its capabilities with Maldives in this regard.

“We are already engaged in the development of water and sanitation facilities on 34 islands through LoC financing. Apart from extending basic civic amenities to island communities, the project that is one of the largest climate adaptation measures ongoing in the Maldives at a cost of more than USD 100 million, I think is very noteworthy. We exchanged views on how we take climate change and renewable energy development forward,” Jaishankar said.

The External Affairs minister said, “Let me in conclusion emphasise that our time-tested relationship is today poised for a quantum jump. We are touching the lives of our people like we have done never before. We are partners in development, we are promoting peace and security, and our relationship, in many ways, serves as a model for the region.”

“It is a partnership that delivers for its stakeholders – the citizens of our countries – both in good times and in bad times. This is a partnership that tackles common challenges of regional development, which addresses disruptions and disasters. It is a partnership that is a force for stability in the region. And, it is our shared responsibility to nurture, to strengthen it and to take it forward. And I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that we remain very strongly committed to further progress of this relationship and coming to Addu has been a particularly effective way of messaging that,” he said.

Jaishankar and Maldives President Ibrahim Solih will inaugurate a police training academy and a drug rehabilitation centre built with Indian financial assistance at Addu, a city in the southernmost atoll of the Indian Ocean archipelago.

The External Affairs Minister arrived in the island nation Saturday ahead of his trip to Sri Lanka on March 28.

Jaishankar’s five-day (March 26-30) visit to the two key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region is part of India’s attempt to proactively reach out with projects and initiatives to counter China’s influence.

The Maldives visit comes at a time of protests there that the government has “sold out” to India. Dubbed the “India Out” campaign, the protests have received active backing from Yameen and his Progressive Party, especially since his release from house arrest after he was exonerated from corruption charges.

During his presidency, Yameen wooed China and gave his foreign policy a Beijing tilt. He hopes to make a comeback at the next election and has made this his main political platform.

After dropping a plan last month to pass a law to ban the protests as anti-national and punish the protestors with a jail term, the MDP decided  earlier this week to disallow an “India Out” rally in Male scheduled for Friday.

With a friendly government in Male since 2017, India has been well positioned to build back influence in the country, vital along with Sri Lanka, to Delhi’s strategic interests in a region where China is also engaged in establishing its presence.

Other than the police training school, and the drug rehab clinic, India has undertaken a  host of other projects in Addu city, including an airport, road projects, drainage and land reclamation. Another project being financed in Addu by India is the development of eco tourism zones.

India is also building the $500-million Greater Male Connectivity project, the largest infrastructure project in the country that links three islands with Male. The anti-India campaign claims a large Indian military presence in Maldives and that the government is planning to hand over the Uthuru Thilafalhu atoll to the Indian Navy.

The Maldives government has clarified several times that there are no military personnel in the country other than crew and maintenance required to fly three Dornier surveillance and rescue aircraft, and a team of military doctors.