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Mahesh

12/01/24 07:13 AM IST

India- Maldives relation

In News
  • The new government led by President Mohamed Muizzu asked India to withdraw military personnel, chose China for one of his first overseas visits, and then moved to scrap a key pact involving a water survey.
India out campaign
  • The Maldives is a key maritime neighbour of India in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), located 300 nautical miles from the Indian mainland (West coast) and 70 nautical miles from the Minicoy Island in Lakshadweep.
  • The country’s location holds significant strategic importance to India, especially amid China’s growing engagements in the region.
  • Although Maldives-India ties have been mostly cordial over the years, there was a noticeable tilt towards China during the presidency of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) leader Abdulla Yameen from 2013 to 2018.
  • It was under Mr. Yameen that China included the Maldives as a part of its Belt and Road initiative (BRI).
India -Maldives relations
  • After the British relinquished control of the islands in 1965, India established diplomatic ties.
  • While there was no diplomatic mission in Male earlier — it was run by the Indian High Commission in Colombo till 1978 — since 1980, India has had an ambassadorial representative in the islands.
  • Estimates suggest that almost 70 per cent of Maldives’ defence training is done by India — either on the islands or in India’s elite military academies.
  • India has trained over 1,500 Maldivian National Defence Force (MNDF) personnel in the past 10 years.
  • The Indian Navy has given aircraft and choppers to the Maldivian defence forces for aerial surveillance, and have trained their personnel on how to land vertically in the islands.
  • India also wants to set up a coastal radar system in Maldives, with a view to keep an eye on the activities in the Indian Ocean.
Maldives needs India
  • India supplies Maldives with its everyday essentials: rice, spices, fruits, vegetables, poultry — basically every possible edible item in the country, except, of course, seafood, which Maldives has in plenty.
  • It supplies medicines — not just everyday medicines, but all critical care and life-saving drugs.
  • India also supplies basic items to build infrastructure in Maldives — cement, rock boulders, and basically anything one needs to build a house or a bridge or a school or a hospital.
  • In fact, one of the major multi-speciality hospitals in Maldives has been built by India, the 300-bed Indira Gandhi Memorial hospital.
  • India has been the education provider for Maldivians. Since the country has a small population base and the islands are isolated and spread out, there are no major educational institutions.
  • Maldives is dependent on India for most items, and hence India is among its top trading partners. Of the Rs 50 crore total trade between India and Maldives in 2022, Rs 49 crore was India’s exports to Maldives. India emerged as Maldives’ second largest trade partner in 2022.
  • When there was a coup attempt in 1988 against then President Abdul Gayoom, India sent in troops to fight the combatants.
  • Indian Navy and the Maldivian Navy conduct joint exercises and Indian assets are always in readiness in the vicinity to protect the island nation.
Source- The Hindu

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