Agreements between India and Maldives

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    In News: Recently, India-Maldives Foreign Ministers meet concluded significant security and economic agreements.

    Key Outcomes of the Meeting

    • Security Agreements
      • $50 million defence Line of Credit agreement: The Finance Ministry of Maldives and the Export-Import (EXIM) Bank of India agreed over a 50 million USD Line of Credit for Defence Sector.
      • Development of Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) Naval Base: It will strengthen Maldivian Coast Guard capability and facilitate regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief efforts.
      • Development of  Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard Harbour & Dockyard at SIFAVARU: It will deepen Security Engagement between both nations.
        • India will support the development of harbour, communications resources and radar services.
        • India will also provide training for Maldivian Coast Guard Personnel.
    • Public Broadcasting: MOU for the association between Prasar Bharati and official State Media of the Maldives, PSM was pushed forward.
    • Covidiplomacy: Progress of ongoing COVID crisis, including India’s ongoing assistance to the Maldives in its post-COVID economic recovery period was also accessed.
      • India also handed over one lakh additional doses of COVID vaccine.
    • Sustainable Urban Development, Road Infrastructure and Housing: Project execution contract for the construction of roads in Addu, the second-largest urban area in the Maldives in terms of population, was also signed by S. Jaishankar.
    • Joint Working Group on Counter-Terrorism: Both countries agreed to help each other in curbing increasing radicalisation and terrorism.
    • Cooperation at UNGA: India is proposing Maldives for the Presidency of the 76th session of the UNGA.
    • National College of Policing and Law Enforcement Studies: India agreed to extend its hand for training police personnel via institutional linkages and infrastructure creation.

    Indo-Maldive Relations

    Importance of the Maldives for India:

    • Strategic Location: The Maldives is situated in the Indian Ocean.
      • The Equator passes through it.
      • It sits very near to the busy trade route which is vital for East Asian Energy Security.
    • Huge Scope of Cooperation: Both countries can cooperate on Hydrography, Health, Passenger and Cargo services by sea, Capacity building in customs and Civil service training.
    • Gujral Doctrine and Neighbourhood Policy: The Maldives is India’s neighbour. Any instability is bound to impact India and its security.
      • Hence, Gujral Doctrine advocated asymmetric help be extended to neighbours by India.
      • Also, Maldives is one of the key beneficiaries of India’s Neighbourhood First.
    • Pivot role in SAGAR Initiative of India: Maldives is key to India’s ambition to become a regional maritime security provider.
      • Anti-Piracy and Anti-Terror operations can also be carried out with Maldives’s help.
    • Operation Cactus and Past Agreements: India-Maldives relations have always been good since Maldivian independence in 1966.
      • India thwarted a coup attempt in 1984 by Operation Cactus at the request of Maldivian government.
      • Even in the past, India has extended multiple Line of Credits and both have cooperated under the banner of SAARC, UN, Commonwealth.
      • Joint military exercise is ‘Exercise Ekuverin’.
      • Operation Neer was initiated by the Indian government to help the Maldives after a major fire broke out at the Male Water and Sewerage Company.
    • India’s Claim over Permanent Seat of UNSC: Maldives supports Indian claim over UNSC permanent seat with a veto.
    • Double Fish Hook Strategy: To counter the Chinese string of pearl, India is focusing on creating multiple naval bases in the Indian Ocean. Maldives is an important country for that.
    • Maldivian Students, Patients and Tourists: India is a preferred destination for Maldivians for education, Health, Business and Tourism.
    • India-Maldives trade: India and Maldives signed a trade agreement in 1981, which provides for the export of essential commodities.
      • Under the bilateral agreement, India provides essential food items like rice, wheat flour, sugar, dal, onion, potato and eggs and construction material such as sand and stone aggregates to the Maldives on favourable terms.
      • India has a positive Balance of Trade with Maldives and is the 4th largest import source for Maldives after UAE, China and Singapore.

     

    Major Concerns

    • China’s “String of Pearls”: Aims to ensure the security of its sea lanes, especially the unhindered flow of critically-needed energy supplies from Africa and West Asia through the Indian Ocean.
    • Former President Yameen’s Policies and China Card: Although the incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is pro-India, the previous president Yameen’s policies hurt the Indian Prospects.
    • Political Instability since 2015: It poses challenges while dealing with the changing governments.
    • Increasing Radicalisation: The Maldives is also within the reach of radical outfits like Daesh (IS) and Pakistan based Madarassas, etc.

    Conclusion

    • India-Maldives are perfectly placed to complement each other’s strategic interests.
    • Hence, deeper Socio-Economic and Defence engagement can help both to propagate mutual interests at Global Platform.

    Source: IE, NewsonAir

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