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Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, who was on a two-day visit to India earlier this week, underlined the “special relationship” that his country shared with India.
He said New Delhi has always been the first responder whenever Male faced any crisis.
In an exclusive interview with India Today’s Foreign Affairs Editor Geeta Mohan, Abdulla Shahid said India has long been a time-tested friend and has played a significant role in the Indian Ocean region. He highlighted instances when India came to the rescue during crises faced by the island country.
“In 1988, there was a mercenary attack which undermined our sovereignty. India responded. There was a tsunami in 2004 and at that time, President (Maumoon Abdul) Gayoom was in power. India responded then. In 2015, there was a water crisis under President (Abdulla) Yameen’s tenure. Within six hours, India airlifted water to the residents of Male,” Abdulla Shahid said.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, President (Ibrahim) Solih was in power. Then also, we saw the same high degree of generosity from Delhi. That is why we have this time-tested special relationship with India for the last few decades,” he said.
The Maldives foreign minister said that under Ibrahim Solih’s government, the foreign policy has always been ‘India First’. He also said under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s neighbourhood first policy outreach, it is ‘Maldives First’.
LESS SUPPORT FOR ‘INDIA OUT’ CAMPAIGN
Ahead of the Maldives presidential election in September this year, Abdulla Shahid spoke about the ‘India Out’ campaign led by former President Abdulla Yameen, whose tenure from 2013 to 2018, saw bilateral ties with India coming under strain as he cosied up to China.
He said there was not much support from the anti-India campaign being run by Abdulla Yameen and some members of his Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and stressed it was the work of a “fringe group”.
“Not all PPM members support it. This is the work of a fringe group with nothing else to sell regarding election (campaigning). They need to have something. The only thing they could come up with was creating hatred against the most generous neighbour,” the Maldives Foreign Minister said.
He stated that President Ibrahim Solih issued a decree outlawing the campaign and said it was important to tackle the promotion of hatred as it could damage his country’s political psyche in the long run.
He also said all other parties had condemned the actions of Abdulla Yameen.
STABLE AND PROSPEROUS INDIAN OCEAN
Abdulla Shahid espoused the importance of security and stability of the Indian Ocean region given the fact that the Maldives is situated in a strategic location. He said as an island nation situated in the heart of the Indian Ocean, “you have to make sure that it continues to beat”.
“There come many responsibilities which we take seriously. The rest of the body will suffer if there is any instability and chaos in the heart. We need to ensure that the Maldives continues to be stable and prosperous so that the Indian Ocean remains the same,” he said.
The Maldives Foreign Minister stressed that Male’s position has remained unchanged, that is, not bringing any foreign conflicts into the neighbourhood.
CHINA’S BRI AND MALDIVES PRESIDENTIAL POLLS
Asked about China’s expansion of its ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), he responded by saying, “If you are my best friend, you won’t ask me to choose friends.”
Talking about the upcoming Maldives presidential election, he expressed confidence that the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will win the polls.
