19/12/2018 - Bilateral Relations

KEY POINTS

The newly elected Maldivian president called India the island nation’s “closest friend” and “reaffirmed his government’s ‘India-First’ Policy”, committing to working together closely with India.

A tremendous opportunity for India

Applying I.K.Gujral Doctrine

·        Economic co-operation: India, for its part, announced a financial assistance package of $1.4 billion for the Maldives in the form of budgetary support, currency swap agreements and concessional lines of credit.

·        Security interests: Both sides have agreed to ensure that they would keep other’s security interests in mind as they consolidate cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

·        Respecting sovereignty and territorial integrity: The present Maldivian government takes a neutral stand in its foreign policy, unlike the erstwhile Maldivian Government.

·        Peaceful negotiations: India’s renewed focus on strengthening democratic institutions in the neighborhood for better returns.

Challenges for India

·        Maldives welcoming heavy investments by Chinese for major infrastructure projects and signing a controversial free trade agreement (FTA).

·        These infrastructure projects include the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, which connects Malé’s eastern edge to the western corner of the island of Hulhulé. It is now estimated that China’s loans to the Maldives total at least $1.3 billion.

·        The new Maldivian government is looking to India for more budgetary support to help meet its development goals and is also planning to revise the FTA with China.

·        India’s entreaties for political moderation and closer security ties were summarily ignored.

Strengthening social capital with the Maldives and completing the infrastructural projects will pave the way for better bilateral relations with the Maldives.

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