Minister of Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid has stated that the assistance provided by India for the development of the Maldives is transparent and accounted for by both sides. He made the remark in an interview given to the Indian news agency Strat News Global.
In the interview, Minister Shahid said the relationship between the Maldives and India has never been better because of the efforts made by the administration. He recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was at the swearing-in ceremony of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and said the level of contact between the two leaders has since been phenomenal.
Furthermore, Minister Shahid shed light on the large infrastructure projects that have been undertaken in the Maldives with the assistance of India such as the Thilamale’ Bridge, the Hanimaadhoo International Airport, Gan International Airport, the development of water and sanitation systems in the atolls as well as smaller grassroots projects that impact citizens. He said India's assistance has been transparent and accounted for from both sides and that the Ministry of Finance has the figures uploaded to the relevant websites.
Moreover, Minister Shahid said the defence cooperation of the two countries is premised on the fact that the Maldives is in the heart of the Indian Ocean. He highlighted that the Maldives would be the first to suffer if there is a conflict or instability in the Indian Ocean, which is why the Maldives partners with India and other neighbouring countries as well as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA). He further said that the Maldives region is 99% ocean, which makes the borders porous. He noted that the Indian Ocean has a high incidence of piracy, narco-trafficking, and other criminal activities and expressed gratitude to India for partnering with the Maldives to protect the country’s territory.