Aug 22, 2011

Indian Engagement of the Atoll Nation

            India’s External Affairs Minister Mr S M Krishna was in Maldives during July in a bid to firm up ties with the country on the southern edge of South Asia amidst the serene blue waters of the Indian Ocean. India Maldives relations are traditionally very proximate and bilateral ties, include trade and investments, Human Resource Development, capacity building, health, infrastructure, tourism, energy, and culture. Indian companies are also investing heavily in Maldives including upgrading of infrastructure, construction of hospitals and energy. In the field of security, terrorism, drug trafficking and related threats are engaging both the nations.

The SAARC summit is being held at Addu Atoll in November and India has provided Maldives $ 5 million grant for the same. The External Affairs Minister met with President Mohamed Nasheed to discuss and review preparations for the upcoming SAARC Summit in the Maldives.

            India will also undertake extensive renovation work of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Male. The project to construct the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism Studies in Male is also likely to be completed by mid 2013. A Development Finance Institution in Maldives with the help of an Indian institution, promotion of the Maldives as a film shooting destination and the creation of infrastructure for setting up an Information Technology (IT) village in Maldives are other projects where both the countries are working together. India Cultural Center has also been established in Male.

            The United States is also seen taking extensive interest in Maldives. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised the strides Maldives is making, during a visit by Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem to Washington. “The United States is very impressed with the many strides that the Maldives is making, and also the role that you are playing regionally and even globally on important issues like climate change and so much else,” Clinton said.

            The importance to Maldives by the United States is exceptional for a small state in the Indian Ocean with barely 300,000 plus inhabitants, the Secretary of State has specially feted the Maldives foreign minister. The US President has also shown preference for Maldives President Nasheed in the past. The overall aim appears to be two fold, as an Islamic country which is progressive the US sees this as an outreach to the Muslim community. The second engagement appears to be military with the US holding a series of exercises with the MNDF in the past the aim appears to be to build capacity in the light of non traditional challenges as piracy as well as looming Chinese threat in the Indian Ocean.