Six Maldivian police officers have been sent abroad for training according to the Maldives Police Service.
On Monday, a Police Official said that the officers had been sent to Singapore under an agreement that was being carried out between the Singaporean and Maldivian forces.
Two of the officers sent abroad, Corporal Izmiyyah Zahir and Constable Hassan Saeed, will be enrolled in a senior officer’s basic course.
The four remaining officers, including Chief State Inspector Mohamed Hameed and Sergeant Fareed Ismail, will take part in a community police course.
The Singapore Police Force has a heritage almost as old as modern Singapore itself and it is hoped that some of its experience and professionalism will be brought back to the Maldives.
Recently, both the Police Service and Government have been using international training programmes in an effort to help modernise their practices.
Just last week, eighteen Maldivian trainees returned from a programme based in Australia, which was aimed at improving the administration at Maafushi Prison.
The trainees were the final group to receive training under the Home Affairs Ministry’s current programme to improve prison conditions, however, Deputy Minister Azim Shukoor has confirmed that the government plans to send more people abroad for training in 2007.
“Even if the plan doesn’t work out,†said Shukoor, “we will bring international experts home and conduct the training in the Maldives. We will soon start discussions on obtaining the opportunity to send people abroad for trainingâ€.
The most recent training in Singapore was not part of the Home Ministry’s current programme. It was also not the first instance where the Singapore police have agreed to provide training to their Maldivian counterparts.