India has granted a further US$25million to the Maldives as part of the $US100million standby credit facility agreed during last November’s official visit from Prime Minister Manmoham Singh.
Indian High Commissioner D M Mulay signed the agreement with Minister of Finance and Treasury Abdulla Jihad at the Indian High Commission, local media reported.
Mulay, who was not responding to calls at the time of press, said that the deal represented the third instalment of the credit facility, with the previous two instalments having amounted to US$50million.
The previous tranche of US$30 million was released following President Waheed’s first official visit to India in May.
Mulay is also reported to have said that the rest of the promised credit will soon be handed to the Maldivian government: “The paperwork on the agreement is being processed now, the amount will soon be awarded to the Maldives,” Haveeru quoted Mulay.
A standby line of credit is normally forwarded to countries which have reached macroeconomic sustainability but experience short term financing issues.
The release of this credit comes just days after Waheed completed his first official state visit to China.
The loans, equal to nearly one quarter of the Maldives’ GDP, are said to include $150 million (MVR2.3billion) for housing and infrastructure, with another $350million (MVR5.4billion) from the Export-Import Bank of China, reported Reuters.
Jihad told Minivan News last week that, despite securing this money from China, the government would still be considering austerity measures which are being considered in order to reduce the state’s budget deficit.
With income lower and expenditure higher than predicted, this year’s budget deficit had been forecast to reach MVR9.1billion (US$590million), equivalent to around 28 percent of nominal GDP.
India has traditionally enjoyed close ties with the Maldives, although there have been increasingly strong links between the Maldives and China, largely due to the number of Chinese tourists visiting the Indian Ocean nation.
A Chinese embassy opened in Male’ in time for the opening of the SAARC summit last November, reciprocating the opening of a Maldivian mission in Beijing in 2007.
Indian officials were reported at the time as having concern that the move was part of China’s “string of pearls” policy which supposedly involves Chinese attempts at naval expansion into the Indian Ocean.
After the awarding of the Chinese loan, however, former Foreign Minister and current UN Special Rapporteur to Iran, Dr Ahmed Shaheed was keen to play down any suggestions that the Maldives was about to significantly change its foreign policy priorities.
“This is very much in keeping with past policy. The lines so far drawn have demonstrated that the Maldives remains primarily SAARC focused, followed by trading partners in the EU and Singapore. China has moved into this second category,” he added.
“Nothing will change the fact that we are only 200 miles from Trivandrum,” said Shaheed.
When asked upon his recent return from Sri Lanka what the Maldives’ policy was regarding Sino-Indian competition in the region, President Waheed is said to have responded that the policy of a small nation like the Maldives ought to be to avoid too great an involvement in geopolitics.
Political unrest in the Maldives and Nepal during 2012 has set back preparations for the 18th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bangladesh-based media has reported today.
According to The Daily Star newspaper, the next summit meeting for the heads of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives had been scheduled to be held in Kathmandu during May 2013.
However, the chances of meeting such a date are now alleged to be unlikely over reports that no preparatory work has been undertaken by Nepalese authorities.
Citing unnamed “diplomatic sources”, the Daily Star has claimed that the postponement of an inter-summit session of the organisation’s council of ministers by the Maldives – in its position of current SAARC Chair – had further set back Nepal’s own preparations.
“The Maldives, the current SAARC Chair, is also in serious political crisis following the alleged ouster of Mohamed Nasheed as president of the country in February last,” wrote the newspaper.
The inter-summit session is reported to have been required under the SAARC Charter to be held six months after the organisation’s previous summit in order to finalise the dates, venue, and agenda of its next meeting.
Foreign Minister Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla and President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza were not responding to calls from Minivan News at the time of press.
During the summit, former President Mohamed Nasheed identified several key issues to be addressed including trade, transport, economic investment, security against piracy, climate change and good governance.
The Indian High Commission in Male’ has told local newspaper Haveeru that there will be a delay in the introduction of sniffer dogs to combat drug trafficking.
Despite a request last June from the Maldives Police Service (MPS), an official from the High Commission said that the MPS had told them that the appropriate environment in which to keep the animals was not yet ready.
Police media official Sub Inspector Hassan Haneef told the paper that the plan will still go ahead with the assistance of the Indian government.
Indian media outlets have reported that the country’s Minister for Civil Aviation Ajit Singh has asked the Maldives to consider ways to resolve ongoing disputes with Indian company GMR regarding the development of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).
The Economic Timesreported that the issue arose during a meeting with the Aviation Minister and a Maldivian delegation led by the Maldives’ Minister for Transport and Communication Dr Ahmed Shamheed.
The paper said that an official statement from the Civil Aviation Ministry had highlighted the major issues discussed:
“The contentious issues include provision of airport development charges provided for in the agreement with the GMR, but termed as unauthorised by a local court in the Maldives, and a demand for an additional runway not provided in the agreement,” the statement is reported to have said.
The development of the airport – expected by the company to total US$511m in costs – is the largest foreign investment project undertaken in the Maldives’ history and includes commitments to complete the renovation of INIA’s existing terminal this month.
The issues detailed during the meeting have been compounded in recent months by government aligned parties calling for nationalisation of the airport as well as orders to halt construction work following allegations of missing permits.
CEO of GMR Maldives operations Andrew Harrison today told Minivan News that the government had informed the company it had complied all regulations, but had not yet given it the go-ahead to resume work.
“We have not done any work since August 2,” said Harrison.
During a visit to India last month, leader of the government aligned Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ahmed Thasmeen Ali warned of serious repercussion for investor confidence should the country renege on the GMR deal.
Sri Lankan media this week has also reported Business Council leader Hussain S Hashim as saying that a lack of trade dispute mechanisms in the Maldives was stifling bilateral trade.
Travel Daily Indiareported that additional measures to strengthen bilateral ties in the aviation sector were discussed during the meeting.
Increasing air links between Indian cities and the Maldives was a topic reportedly discussed. It was reported that Island Aviation, Spice Jet, and Mega Maldives are all planning to connect Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai with Male’.
Changes to the countries’ aviation agreement was also mentioned in Travel Daily, with the current rules only allowing flights with carrying capacities of less than 150 passengers.
“India will relook the agreement which will help in boosting tourism between the two countries,” Singh is reported to have said.
During his official visit to India in May, President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan spoke of his desire to bring more Indian visitors – who currently represent only 2.9 percent of the market share – to the Maldives.
“Not enough Indian tourists are coming to the Maldives and that is a matter of concern for us. I am sure it is also a matter of concern for India, particularly when you realise that there are so many Chinese tourists who are coming to the Maldives now,” Dr Waheed told India’s Business Line.
Whilst Dr Shamheed is in India, a number of his fellow cabinet ministers have accompanied President Waheed on his official state visit to China.
Yesterday, the President’s Office website reported that Waheed had met with members of the business community in Shanghai.
Waheed is reported as having said that investors were always welcome in the Maldives.
“Maldives is open for business,” Waheed told those in attendance at the opening of the China-Eurasia Expo & the 2nd China-Eurasia Economy Development and Cooperation Forum.
The highlight of Waheed’s first trip to China as President has been the finalising of a $500million (MVR7.7billion) package of aid, concessional loans, and loans for housing construction.
“It was just a week ago that Maldivian President Dr Mohamed Waheed was in Colombo, meeting diplomats, businesspeople and the media on a mission to strengthen the existing friendly relations between Sri Lanka and the Maldives,” writes Lasanda Kurukulasuriya for Sri Lanka’s Sunday Times.
“The visit came just days ahead of the release of a report by a commission appointed to investigate the controversial circumstances in which he, as deputy to former president Mohamed Nasheed, assumed office as President of the Maldives in February.”
“The travel destinations of the Maldivian political leaders (past and present) point to their keen awareness of the geostrategic imperatives in the region. For the small Indian Ocean archipelago these considerations dictate that the support and goodwill of its close South Asian neighbours need to be maintained, whilst simultaneously fostering good relations with China.”
“President Waheed when he visited in May sought to reassure Delhi that ‘China will not replace India.’ But the Maldives, just like others, wants to develop trade links with the economic powerhouse.”
Maldivian football fans will look to New Delhi this week as the national team competes for the first time in India’s Nehru Cup.
The team arrived in Delhi yesterday ahead of their first game against Nepal tomorrow evening at 6:30PM (7:00PM local time).
The match will be played in the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, which will host all the tournament’s fixtures.
The tournament begins this evening, with India taking on Syria.
Mauroof Ahmed, Technical Director of the Football Association of Maldives (FAM), said that despite being invited at short notice, the team were in good physical shape.
“In terms of fitness we are well prepared. In terms of spending time together as a team, we need more games,” said Mauroof.
Following their opening fixture, the Maldives will play the hosts and holders India on Saturday (August 25), Syria on Monday (August 27), and Cameroon a week today (August 29).
This will complete the round robin stage of the tournament, at the end of which, the top two sides will play for the trophy on September 2.
Team Coach Istvan Urbanyi told maldivesoccer.com of his high expectations despite a lack of time for preparation.
“I wish we could have a long-term preparations. This time, I am going with a team prepared by clubs, definitely fitness wise,” said Urbanyi.
“I have the maximum expectations because we tried our best even though we didn’t have enough time to build up a team.”
Despite media reports that they have sent an inexperienced squad, the tournament’s favourites are Cameroon, who sit a clear 88 places above any of their opponents in the FIFA world rankings.
Meanwhile, the teams from the Asian Confederation are all thought of similar ability, with the Syrians officially ranked highest and the Indians the lowest. Of the participants, the Maldives is the only side to have moved up the rankings in the past 12 months.
Cameroon’s invitation to the tournament continues the tradition of high quality international opponents featuring in the competition since it started in 1982. Previous non-Asian confederation invitees have included Argentina, Uruguay, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Yugoslavia and Russia.
This year’s tournament is the 15th edition of the Nehru Cup which was resumed in 2007 after a ten year hiatus. The most successful team in the competition’s history is the Soviet Union, who won four titles during the 1980s.
Football development
However, in a region fixated with cricket, the Maldives stands out as a nation that has seemingly shunned wickets and bats for goal-posts and football boots.
“Football has been the number one sport for quite a while,” say Mauroof. “There is a long history of football here, going back 55 years.”
“Cricket is not very popular. In terms of space and available land, football is far more convenient,” he added.
During the recent European Football Championships, huge screens were set up across the capital Male’ to show every game live.
Hundreds of boys turn up every night to play on the sandy pitches on the southern side of the Male’, often having to wait for another game to finish before placing their portable goals at either end of any available space.
Mauroof explained that the best way for the game to continue to develop in the Maldives was to find overseas opportunities for its players.
“The football association is doing work to get players international exposure. We have a close links with the Japanese FA and plan to send one player and one coach to Japan,” said Mauroof.
“Playing in the local leagues will not bring players to an international level. The mentality has to be changed. The challenge is to instil professionalism,” he continued.
The national team’s current captain and leading goalscorer, Ali Ashfag, was offered opportunities in Europe with Portuguese club Benfica as a younger player before opting to remain in the Maldives.
More recently, youngster Mohamed Miraash Imthiyaz travelled to Spain this summer to play with an FC Barcelona under-13 side.
“He is very talented,” said Mauroof. “He has been in our development programme for two years.”
Mauroof was quick to add, however, that Miraash’s parents had been the main driving force in securing opportunities for their son.
“The parents are very motivated. Miraash has also attended other international academies for clubs like Manchester United and Liverpool,” he said.
However, limited finances were described by Mauroof as being a key issue in the further development of the sport, with overseas opportunities often dependent on sponsorship money.
Air India has announced it is cutting the number of weekly services it runs between Bangalore and the Maldives to four return journeys until the end of August, according to media reports.
The Business Line publication yesterday reported that the company will be running the four services on Mondays, Wednesdays Fridays and Sunday until August 31. Air India had been operating daily flights between the two destinations.
“The MDP is extremely worried about the deteriorating environment for investors and strongly condemns the continued threats posed by Dr Waheed’s administration to foreign investors,” read a press statement released by the party today.
The party’s spokesman, Hamid Abdul Ghafoor, stated that public-private partnerships (PPP) initiated under the MDP government have been suspended “in the interest of preserving the status and wealth of few local wealthy businessmen.”
The current government announced the suspension of any new PPP projects shortly after assuming power. The Minister of Economic Development, Ahmed Mohamed, whose department handles foreign investment in the Maldives, was not responding at the time of press. President’s Office Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza was also not responding.
The MDP statement specifically mentions three projects which have encountered difficulties, claiming that they have been intentionally hindered by the current government, “causing irreparable damage to the foreign investment climate of Maldives.”
The World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business Report’ shows that the Maldives has dropped one place in its overall list during the last twelve months, falling to 79th out of 183 countries ranked. In terms of protecting investors, the Maldives dropped five places in this year’s list.
Former Energy Advisor to President Nasheed Mike Mason told Minivan News in June that, before Nasheed’s controversial resignation, the World Bank had given verbal approval to a plan which would have brought an immediate US$200million of renewable energy investment to the country.
The resulting political instability caused the plan, which had been intended to wean the country off its dependency on oil imports, suspended indefinitely as potential investors backed away.
Meanwhile, proposed austerity measures sent to Parliament by the Finance Ministry last week include a three percent increase in oil import duty.
One of the most high profile foreign investments in the Maldives is the GMR-MAHB project to develop Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA). This US$400 million deal for the upgrade and management of the airport represents the country’s biggest ever private investment contract.
The deal has foundered on a dispute over the implementation of an Airport Development Charge (ADC) of $25 per passenger which was agreed as part of the initial contract. This charge was opposed by the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP), now a member of the coalition government, whilst in opposition. The party last year successfully sued for the blocking of the ADC, claiming that it represented an unauthorised tax.
The case led to an arrangement with the Mohamed Nasheed administration whereby the ADC money would be deducted from the concession fee payable to the government. The subsequent shortfall in funding for the project has seen the government’s anticipated US$14.3million in fees replaced this quarter with a bill from GMR for US$1.5million.
A number of pro-government parties, including the DQP, have renewed calls for the re-nationalisation of the airport. The dispute has now been referred to a court of arbitration in Singapore.
All three projects mentioned in today’s press release involve partnerships with Indian firms, the other two being a social housing development project with the TATA group, and a solid waste management project in Thilafushi with environmental engineering company UPL.
During President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan’s official state visit to India in May, he confirmed that all contracts with Indian investors would be honoured and was keen to discuss further Indian investment projects in the Maldives.
The MDP statement noted that its PPP projects would have generated revenue over MVR23.1billion (US$1.5billion) for the country.
The Finance Ministry’s austerity measures are an attempt to reduce this year’s budget deficit, which is forecast to reach MVR9.1billion (US$590million).
When I started inviting people to join the launching session of “Lets Talk” program on Monday night, my expectations for the turn out were not too unrealistic given the history of people’s poor participation in most social events organised by civil society.
Let’s bring at least 30 people, I told my friends at the Friendship Association of India Maldives (FAIM) ,who backed the concept of “Lets Talk”: a monthly forum with people from diverse backgrounds to have discuss various topics and issues concerning society.
So with the table, chairs, projector and coffee to keep people awake, FAIM was ready at Social Center seminar room, eagerly waiting for its first round of talkers.
As the clock’s hands ticked their way to 9:00pm – the planned starting time – only five or six people had arrived, of which most were the special invitees – officials from Labor Relations Authority, police and immigration. They were prepared to talk and answer any question the participants had regarding the chosen topic: sexual harassment, abuse and discrimination faced by both local and migrant women working in Maldives.
I panicked. “What if no one comes?” kept dancing through my head. It was indeed a stressful moment.
“Why did you organise it, when people are not coming?” one person asked as I kept ringing the people who had promised to attend the event.
At one point, in a desperate attempt, I almost dragged in a group of women from the gym class next door, but of course they were quite busy with their aerobics.
Fortunately, however some more familiar faces showed. The talkers slowly reached 22. That was fewer than the targeted audience but delighted, I began with the introduction and ice breakers. Soon the participants were all actively engaged in the discussion.
Participants talking at the Let's Talk Forum
Local girls and ladies from Britain, the US, and Holland shared their experiences of being the targets of constant sexual harassment on the streets, and the “helplessness” they felt in such situations.
One female participant asked” “Are we to ignore and just walk away when they call us a “s**y b***h”,”beautiful tits” or ask us “how much?”.
They also complained of lack of police follow up, even after harassment cases were filed.
Though the forum attracted only one talker of Asian descent, the participants unanimously agreed that it was mostly Asian women working in Maldives who bore the brunt of sexual harassment.
A women from the Phillipines working as a resort rep who had talked to me prior to the forum said: “I always get teased on the streets. Mostly by young boys, but old men do it too. They whistle at me, pass comments about my body or ask me “how much”. It’s very difficult to walk on the streets when I know that people think of me as a prostitute. It’s very upsetting.”
Police officers present at the forum acknowledged the “seriousness” of the problems and encouraged the participants to report such incidents, offering assurances that sexual harassment cases would be taken more seriously.
Meanwhile, a more serious concern was raised: the increasing number of migrant women who are being trafficked into the country, exploited by employers, and often forced into sex work.
Responding to the questions on the subject, immigration officers admitted that the lack of legal provisions and non-existence of victim support mechanisms prevented the institution from protecting the rights of those women and other victims of trafficking. The only option was deportation or repatriation.
They explained that institutional efforts were underway to help victims of trafficking, but without support from the grass-roots level, change was difficult, they said.
“We are witnessing the presence of mass xenophobia in the Maldives. There is a widespread hatred towards foreigners of certain ethnicities. They are not even regarded as human beings,” one officer explained. “We need to educate and create awareness to change people’s attitude.”
Meanwhile, few members from Indian community who participated also highlighted the suffering of Indian expatriates working in Maldives, of whom many are women, and who are being intimidated and exploited by employers.
Their passports are withheld, salaries are not paid and in some circumstances they are not even given the leave to attend the funerals of family members, according to one participant.
Foreign women (and men also) are harassed, mugged and threatened, one Indian participant observed, adding that “if such crimes continue, these women – who are working as nurses, teachers and doctors – will no longer come to the Maldives.”
Despite the low turn out, the honest discussion and sharing of experiences made the soft launch of Lets Talk program a “good start”, if not a success.
UK national Sarah Harvey, who participated in the forum, said: “It was really great that I got the chance to share my own experiences and listen to others as well. Foreign women are facing sexual harassment on a daily basis. It very upsetting and intimidating, and a lot of girls don’t feel comfortable walking down the streets because of it.”
“We are putting effort into adapting to the culture and following appropriate dress codes. I just hope that people recognise that,” the British writer noted.
She also added that foreign women would work in Maldives for longer if they did not keep having these horrible experiences: “It’s one of the major downsides of living here,” she contended.
Marketing director Sanne Wesselman, from Holland, described the forum as “a great effort”, but suggested that “It will take a lot more than these events to raise awareness of the problem.”
Wesselman is right. Following the two-hour long discussions and personal accounts of discrimination and harassment, participants were asked to write one recommended action to solve these problems.
These recommendations included; educating and encouraging a culture of respect for women of all ages and race, and through awareness raising programs, conducting sensitisation program for school students on zero-tolerance of racial discrimination and violence against women and girls. Suggestions also included establishing a helpline for women and girls to report abuse, exploitation and provide counseling advice on request.
Telecasting short advertisements promoting zero-tolerance of harassment and discrimination, hanging posters with such messages in restaurant and streets, and letting respective embassies, high commissions and consulates open safe deposit boxes to keep passports instead of allowing employers to retain the documents were also suggested, among other recommendations.
The Friendship Association of India-Maldives said the recommendations will be forwarded to the Maldivian government through the Indian Embassy, and the NGO will provide support with implementation.
The organisation is meanwhile preparing for its second session of talks, with the hope of attracting a large and diverse group of talkers.
The Friendship Association of India-Maldives (FAIM),is an NGO jointly run by Indians and Maldivians to build a strong bond between the peoples of India and the Maldives through economic, social & welfare initiatives. Please write to [email protected] to join or support the organisation.
(0)Dislikes
(0)