Context
Recently the external Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar has commenced a three-day official visit to the Maldives.
Key Highlights
- Both the countries signed MoUs on potential constructing and inaugurated six High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs).
- India’s Line of Credit (LoC)-assisted mission of water and sewerage network in 28 islands of Maldives was jointly inaugurated at some point of the assembly of both the countries.
- MoUs on capability constructing of additional 1,000 Maldivian civil servants in India and at the creation of UPI in Maldives have been traded.
Significance of Maldives for India
- Trade Route: Situated alongside critical maritime alternate routes between the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Malacca, the Maldives acts as a “toll gate” for nearly half of India’s external trade and 80% of its energy imports.
- Strategic Location: The Maldives is strategically placed in the Indian Ocean, and its stability and security are of interest to India.
- Counterbalancing China: Maldives offers an opportunity for India to counterbalance China’s developing influence in the Indian Ocean, fostering regional balance of power.
- Economic partnership: India is one of the most important investors and tourism markets for the Maldives, with large change and infrastructure initiatives underway.
- Defense and Security Cooperation: Since 1988, defense and security has been a chief region of cooperation among India and Maldives.
- A complete Action Plan for Defence became additionally signed in 2016 to consolidate defense partnership.
- Estimates propose that almost 70 percent of Maldives’ defense training is completed by using India — both on the islands or in India’s elite military academies.
Significance of India for Maldives
- Essential Commodities: India supplies Maldives with its regular essentials: rice, spices, fruits, vegetables, chicken, drugs and life-saving medicines.
- Education: Every year, Maldivian students come to Indian higher educational institutions.
- Economic dependence: Of the Rs 50 crore general trade between India and Maldives in 2022, Rs 49 crore was India’s exports to Maldives. India emerged as Maldives’ 2nd largest trade partner in 2022.
- Disaster Relief Assistance: When a tsunami struck the islands in 2004, India changed into the first to send in help.
- In 2014 Male had a ingesting water disaster as the principal desalination plant broke down, India in a single day airlifted consuming water to the islands.
- During the Covid-19 pandemic, India sent vital medicines, masks, gloves, PPE kits and vaccines for the island country.
Challenges in Relations
- Domestic turmoil in the Maldives: Recent political upheavals and changes in authorities have created uncertainty and complicated long-time period cooperation initiatives.
- Chinese Influence: China’s growing monetary presence in the Maldives, evidenced by means of investments in infrastructure initiatives and debt-entice international relations, is perceived as a mission to India’s strategic hobbies inside the vicinity.
- Military objectives: Chinese naval growth and potential military pursuits in the Indian Ocean with the active help from Maldives has raised issues for India.
- Trade imbalance: The significant trade imbalance among India and the Maldives should lead to resentment and demands diversifying trade partnerships.
Conclusion
- The visit highlights the significance of the Maldives, India’s maritime neighbor, as a key companion in the ‘Neighbourhood First’ coverage and India’s Vision SAGAR (Security and Growth for All within the Region).
- Maldives remains an important partner of India in retaining peace, balance and prosperity inside the Indian Ocean region.
Source: The Hindu