On Tuesday, Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih hailed the Indian government for generously helping the country to overcome the impact of the pandemic posed during the COVID-19 spread.
“India has generously aided us on many occasions. We received a lot of equipment from India essential to provide health services,” he said as he lifted the health emergency and mandatory mask rule in the Maldives. He added that India had provided the maximum number of vaccines and had also eased up access for Maldivians needing urgent health care, further allowing them to travel to the country.
“India purchased financial bonds worth $250 million to help recover our economy. A travel corridor was enacted between our countries to ensure continued tourist arrivals. India also allowed urgent health care service”, the Maldives President said on March 15.
At the same time, a travel corridor was enacted between our countries to ensure continued tourist arrivals. India also eased up access for Maldivians needing urgent health care, allowing them to travel to the country: Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
— ANI (@ANI) March 15, 2022
This is a day after the Maldives lifted the health emergency and mandatory mask rule declared at the beginning of the year 2020. The country reported wide vaccine coverage and a low positivity rate and said that it had also decided to relax the mandatory mask policy. According to the reports, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih also announced that the country had suffered a huge loss amounting to $4 billion due to the pandemic. “Wearing masks is now optional, except in hospitals and health care centres, and should the COVID-19 positivity rate go above 20% in any island”, he was quoted.
He thanked India for playing an important role in helping the country overcome the pandemic’s impact. It is important to note that India had announced a $250 million package to the Maldives during the pandemic. Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid had then thanked India and said, “Even in such distressing times, India has proved to be our great friend”.
India had also provided the Maldives with 1 lakh doses of Serum Institute made Covishield vaccine in January 2021 to boost their fight against the coronavirus pandemic. Further, additional 1 lakh doses were sent in February 2021. Earlier in February 2020, a special Air India flight had evacuated 323 Indians and 7 Maldives citizens from the Wuhan province in China. Foreign Minister of Maldives, Abdulla Shahid expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Modi and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar for rescuing Maldivians from Coronavirus hit Wuhan province of China.
‘India First’ Campaign launched by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
This also comes amid President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih launching the ‘India first’ campaign and denying the presence of the Indian military in the country. The opposition party led by the Former President of Maldives, Abdullah Yameen is spreading the false narrative in the Maldives about the agreement between India and Maldives, saying that it is to allow India to station its forces in the island country.
Yameen had further alleged that the bilateral agreement allowed Indian ships to enter the waters of Maldives without any clearance. According to the reports, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih criticized Yameen and his supporters and said that there was no presence of the Indian troops in the country. The Maldives Defence Ministry released a statement saying that all the statements about Uthuru Thilafalhu being a foreign base were false. “Foreign military vessels that arrive in the Maldives do not need a diplomatic clearance, and does not require a permit from the National Defense Force to enter this port, is untrue”, the statement added.
Reportedly, a bilateral agreement was signed between India and Maldives last year in February according to which the Indian government had promised to develop the harbour of the Maldives National Defence Force Coast Guard at Sifvaru-Uthuru Thilafalhu. The opposition party led by Yameen then had registered protests against India’s presence in the country and called for the ‘Indian military out’.
This triggered the current Maldivian government to reiterate its ‘India First’ stance. In recent years, the Maldives has gained international interest as part of India’s and China’s rising rivalry. Former President Abdulla Yameen is widely regarded as being dangerously close to China. Reports mention that Yameen’s close affiliation with the Chinese government is the reason behind him launching the ‘India Out’ campaign.
