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Our first and closest friend is India. Shahid, the Maldives’ foreign minister, argues that China is also a partner
According to Abdulla Shahid, who is also the president of the UN General Assembly, the opposition in the Maldives is pushing the "India Out" campaign and has no plans for the country's growth.
In New Delhi: According to Abdulla Shahid, the Maldives’ foreign minister, Maldivians have always considered India to be their “first and closest” friend, whether it is during Operation Cactus in 1988 or the Covid pandemic in 2020.
Malé would still cooperate with China, though, Shahid said in an interview with ThePrint.
He continued by saying that the opposition figures in the Maldives who have “no development objective” are behind the anti-India campaign.
Shahid, who serves as the UNGA’s president, added that while the UN Security Council needs to be more inclusive, the global body must “reflect” the geopolitical developments occurring throughout the world.
“The partnership between the Maldives and India is founded on shared trust and understanding of the affinity and closeness that exists between our two nations. And since President [Ibrahim Mohamed] Solih took office in 2018, the friendship has grown significantly, Shahid stated during his recently finished visit to New Delhi.
Elections will be held in 2023 for President Solih, who visited India earlier this month to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The neighbouring nation is witnessing a fight between Solih and Maldives Speaker Mohammad Nasheed, a member of his party.
On November 17, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present at Solih’s swearing-in ceremony in Malé. A month later, Solih visited India. After being re-elected in 2019, Modi travelled abroad for the first time in June of the following year.
“Our two leaders have been closely collaborating. The relationship between India and the Maldives is improving, according to Shahid.
“Whenever necessary, India has been the first nation to respond and take the Maldives’ worries and exigencies into account. Naturally, it is the first nation that could, and it has consistently proven itself, according to the Maldivian foreign minister.
“We are reminded of the incident on November 3, 1988, when a gang of terrorists and mercenaries attacked the Maldives with weapons. Referring to Operation Cactus, he stated that there was an instant response from India that was supported by the international community.
After Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom requested military aid from Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi to thwart a coup d’état by opposition forces, Indian troops flew from Agra to Malé as part of “Operation Cactus.”
Then, in 2004, during the tsunami, Indian ships leaving Indian ports carrying necessities for the Maldives. India then offered assistance once more in 2015 during Malé’s water crisis. India has always supported us, Shahid continued, from providing vaccines to evacuating students during the pandemic.
“The kind of help India has always provided to the Maldives will never be forgotten by the public. So, he said, “we won’t forget about this unique relationship.
Engaging China and others
Shahid claims that although India would always be the Maldives’ “first and closest friend,” which through the years has culminated in a “India First” policy, the nation will also maintain friendly and cooperative relations with China.
He continued, “At the same time, we will also continue to work with everyone, including China and many other nations, who have also been very kind in their assistance and cooperation.”
The ‘India Out’ campaign led by former president Abdulla Yameen, who intends to return to politics and run in the presidential election the following year, has suddenly gained traction in the Maldives.
It is suspected that Yameen is receiving assistance from China for this endeavour. Maldives had totally shifted its allegiance to China and racked up a huge debt under Yameen’s presidency from 2013 to 2018.
The opposition party behind the “India Out” campaign, Shahid emphasised, “has no development goals other than to stir up some fervour against our closest friend and neighbour.”
“The folks in this category have nothing to offer the populace. They must thus come up with something, he continued, noting that President Solih would be “re-elected and the people of the Maldives have received his good work that has been done under his outstanding leadership.”
Following the signing of a military agreement between India and the Maldives in February of 2021, the “India Out” movement gained traction.
The UN must adapt to changes
Shahid observed that the world was experiencing “death, devastation, and sorrow” during his presidency because of the Covid outbreak, the Taliban’s occupation of Afghanistan, and the ensuing Russia-Ukraine War. His one-year term as UNGA president would come to a conclusion in September.
Shahid also highlighted that the UN has to “reflect the changes” that have taken place in the world since the multilateral body was founded. “It is a must if the United Nations needs to be relevant,” he asserted.
