Maldives believes India’s presence in the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG), that is working to resolve the political crisis in the country, will help present the country’s case better in international forums.
Maldives High Commissioner to India, Ahmed Mohamed, said having an Indian presence in the CMAG team that visited Maldives last week will help the country a lot. “India understands what is going on in the Maldives and India understands what needs to be done, “ he said.
The CMAG delegation was in Maldives from 6 to 8 February 2016 to hold discussions with the Government, Opposition political parties, and other community leaders and representatives on the current political situation in the country. The delegation comprised of Guyana’s Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Greenidge, India’s Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs and International Trade Amina Mohamed. The next CMAG meeting is scheduled for February 24 with the main agenda being how to strengthen democracy in the Maldives and how the Commonwealth could be involved in the process.
The envoy asserted that India-Maldives ties were on an upward trajectory as manifested by the bilateral visits of ministers and top officials.“What has been happening is that the (India-Maldives) relationship has improved drastically as compared to what we have seen in early 2013 or early 2014, “ he said.
“As we speak, the biggest aircraft carrier of India is in the Maldives and that is also a very healthy sign of the relationship we have, “ he said. Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya along with its support ships INS Mysore and INS Deepak are on a four-day visit to the Maldives.
Meanwhile, Maldives ambassador hit out against former president Mohammad Nasheed and accused him of misusing his visit to United Kingdom to “deceitfully “ tarnish the reputation of the country. Nasheed is in london for treatment after he was granted 30-day prison leave by the Government to undergo an urgent spinal cord surgery. Nasheed has sought two-month extension of his medical leave in the United Kingdom. The Yameen government is still in the process of granting him an extension.