External Affairs Ministers Visit to Maldives

General Studies Paper-2

Context: External Affairs Minister of India S. Jaishankar has commenced a three-day official visit to the Maldives.

Key highlights of the meeting

• Both the nations signed MoUs on capacity building and inaugurated six High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs).
• India’s Line of Credit (LoC)-assisted project of water and sewerage network in 28 islands of Maldives was jointly inaugurated during the meeting of both the nations.
• MoUs on capacity building of additional 1,000 Maldivian civil servants in India and on the introduction of UPI in Maldives were exchanged.

Significance of Maldives for India

• Trade Route: Situated along crucial maritime trade routes between the Gulf of Aden and the Strait of Malacca, the Maldives acts as a “toll gate” for nearly half of India’s external trade and 80% of its energy imports.
• Strategic Location: The Maldives is strategically located in the Indian Ocean, and its stability and security are of interest to India.
• Counterbalancing China: Maldives presents an opportunity for India to counterbalance China’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean, fostering regional balance of power.
• Economic partnership: India is one of the biggest investors and tourism markets for the Maldives, with significant trade and infrastructure projects underway.
• Defense and Security Cooperation: Since 1988, defense and security has been a major area of cooperation between India and Maldives.
  • A comprehensive Action Plan for Defence was also signed in 2016 to consolidate defense partnership.
  • Estimates suggest that almost 70 percent of Maldives’ defense training is done by India — either on the islands or in India’s elite military academies.

Significance of India for Maldives

• Essential Commodities: India supplies Maldives with its everyday essentials: rice, spices, fruits, vegetables, poultry, medicines and life-saving drugs.
• Education: Every year, Maldivian students come to Indian higher educational institutions.
• Economic dependence: Of the Rs 50 crore total trade between India and Maldives in 2022, Rs 49 crore was India’s exports to Maldives. India emerged as Maldives’ second largest trade partner in 2022.
• Disaster Relief Assistance: When a tsunami struck the islands in 2004, India was the first to send in help.
  • In 2014 Male had a drinking water crisis as the major desalination plant broke down, India overnight airlifted drinking water to the islands.
  • During the Covid-19 pandemic, India sent essential medicines, masks, gloves, PPE kits and vaccines for the island country.

Challenges in Relations

• Domestic turmoil in the Maldives: Recent political upheavals and changes in government have created uncertainty and complicated long-term cooperation projects.
• Chinese Influence: China’s growing economic presence in the Maldives, evidenced by investments in infrastructure projects and debt-trap diplomacy, is perceived as a challenge to India’s strategic interests in the region.
• Military ambitions: Chinese naval expansion and potential military ambitions in the Indian Ocean with the active support from Maldives has raised concerns for India.
• Trade imbalance: The significant trade imbalance between India and the Maldives could lead to resentment and calls for diversifying trade partnerships.

Conclusion

• The visit highlights the importance of the Maldives, India’s maritime neighbor, as a key partner in the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and India’s Vision SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region).
• Maldives remains an important partner of India in maintaining peace, stability and prosperity in the Indian Ocean region.