Amid the ongoing diplomatic row between India and Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, former Maldivian President, has expressed concerns about India’s boycott call on the Maldives and how it has impacted his country’s tourism sector. He also conveyed apologies on behalf of the Maldivian people.
Nasheed, who is presently in India, spoke to the media about the tensions between the two nations and said the people of Maldives “are sorry”.
He also said the Maldivian people wished Indian tourists to continue coming to his country.
“It has impacted the Maldives a lot, and I am actually here in India. I’m very worried about this. I want to say the people of the Maldives are sorry, we are sorry that this has happened. We want Indian people to come on their holidays to the Maldives, and there will not be any change in our hospitality,” the former President told the media, news agency ANI reported.
The former President also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently, and said, “I met the Prime Minister last night. PM Modi wished us all well. I am a huge supporter of PM Narendra Modi and I wish Prime Minister Narendra Modi all the best.”
He further praised the quick action taken by the current President in removing those responsible for the boycott.
“I think these matters must be ironed out, and we must revert to changing course and go back to our usual relationship,” the ex-President said.
Also reflecting on historical ties, Nasheed underscored India’s responsible approach during past challenges, stating, “When the president of the Maldives wanted Indian military personnel to leave, you know what India did? They did not twist their arms. They did not display muscle, but just simply told the government of Maldives, ‘Okay, let’s have a discussion on that’.”
Nasheed also urged President Mohamed Muizzu to cease talks on the Dornier flight and helicopters, saying, “It’s very unfortunate that President Muizzu had these discussions. I would call him to please stop these discussions on the Dornier flight and the helicopters. They were brought to the Maldives for medical evacuation, and there is a need for medical evacuation. Our islands are far-flung, and we don’t have developed hospitals on every island. So, there is very often a need to bring a patient to Male, and to do that quickly would be by air, so we need that.”
Muizzu, seen as a pro-China leader, maintained after assuming charge as the President in November, that he would keep his election promise of expelling all Indian military personnel from his country.
Muizzu had set March 10 as the deadline for the withdrawal of the first group of Indian military personnel from his country.
A row erupted after three deputy ministers of the Maldives posted derogatory comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the latter’s visit to Lakshadweep.
President Muizzu suspended the three ministers after their social media postings, which stirred concern in India and called for a boycott by Indian tourists who ranked highest in numbers, followed by Russia.
Source Agencies
