Maldivians will be allowed to travel to Minicoy without a visa following the signing of an agreement between President Mohamed Nasheed and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during his SAARC visit.
Minicoy is part of the island chain that makes up the Maldives and its 9000 inhabitants share many cultural similarities, including religion, and speak an old form of Dhivehi. It has been under Indian authority since the middle of the 16th century.
Press Secretary for President Nasheed, Mohamed Zuhair, said that many Maldivians had family ties with Minicoy, but obtaining visas was “really difficult, and could in some cases take up to three months.”
The new arrangement, he said, was “a very welcome development”, and comes as part of the establishment of an Indian Ocean ferry and cargo service.
The ferry service, which President Nasheed claimed during the SAARC Summit would be finalised by the end of December, will operate between Kulhudhuffushi in Haa Dhaal Atoll, Minicoy and the Indian city of Kochi.
As part of the agreement India will develop the harbour at Kulhudhuffushi, a population hub in the north of the Maldives that overwhelmingly supported the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) in the local council election.
“It is very significant in the sense that small-to-medium businesses, such as handicraft producers and cottage industries, will be able to produce and export to India without needing to use air transport,” Zuhair said.
The government was currently debating the mix of passenger and cargo requirements for the ferry service, he said, and was optimistic that the service would be launched by the end of the year.
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Maliku community is not exposed to real world.
Since independence Indian government treated Maliku and other surrounding Islands inhabitants as primitive people. Even mainland Indians are restricted to visit these Islands.
Now, Maliku community will be at risk as drug addicted and uncouth Maldivians visit those unspoiled simple Maliku community.
Maldives have changed our Trivanthapram- They will spoil Maliku next
“It is very significant in the sense that small-to-medium businesses, such as handicraft producers and cottage industries, will be able to produce and export to India without needing to use air transport,” Zuhair said.
The press sec miserably fails to understand that there is nothing that Maldivians could offer to the 100million handicrafts men and 500million cottage industry producers in india.
big deal...
The Press Sec spoke in front of a number of journos. It is not his fault that his word 'import' was mistakenly reported as 'export'..by a foreign journalist not familiar with Maldivian ties with Cochin..Tks...
I call the Maldivians to visit Minicoy as frequent as possible and have wives from there in order to gain power. Soon we may occupy the land and call the Indian government to free the island, and to make the island as a part of Maldives.
To Balasubaramanium. Maldivians do not spoil people of Trivandrum. Even before Maldivians going Trivandrum , They are already spoiled. Where they small Children? Don't they have minds? Don't blame others for your own mistakes. There are two ways in the world , that is righ way and wrong way. You are free to choose whatever way you want. You choose wrong way and in oder to escape from your own guilt , you are blaming others. One of my Indian friend from Tamil Nadu said to me about fifteen years ago ' In Trivandrum Father will Cheat his Own Children'. After one year I went there , and I found that it is exactly same as my Indian friend said.
This is bad news indeed............now Minicoy and Kochi will be full of Maldivian junkies (100% muslim no less) just like Trivandrum. India should suspend the 90 day visas for Maldivian 'medical tourists'........most so called 'medical tourists' are petty tradesmen stocking up on car parts, clothing and medicines to sell on their primitive atolls.......they stay 89 days in India and return after a week for another 90 day stay.
If Maldivian medical tourists and students avoided India their absence would go unnoticed.
Please, please, please.........go to Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Anywhere.........just give us Indians a break.