Your Excellency President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih,
Excellency Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid,
Excellency Economic Development Minister Fayyaz Ismail,
Ministers, Honourable Members of Parliament, Members of Atoll Councils from the northern atolls,
Dignitaries and Officials from the Government of Maldives,
High Commissioner of India,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am truly delighted to be part of today’s historic ceremony for the groundbreaking of the Hanimaadhoo International Airport Redevelopment Project. I bring to all of you the warm greetings and best wishes of India’s leadership, especially of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and of 1.3 billion plus Indians.
This is my first visit to the beautiful northern atolls of the Maldives and I am touched by the warmth and affection with which my delegation and I have been treated today. The physical proximity of this part of Maldives to India makes us even better appreciate the deep-rooted, longstanding and close linkages between our peoples and our countries.
It is an honour for me to speak to a broad spectrum of Members of Parliament and representatives from the Atoll councils in the Maldives. The abiding faith in democracy is a common thread that binds our two countries.
Friends,
During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June 2019, he spoke about the unique natural closeness of our countries and remarked that ‘Neighbourhood First is our priority; and in the neighbourhood Maldives is priority’.
Better connectivity is a prerequisite for greater prosperity. With this rationale, greater connectivity finds resonance in our theme for the G20 Presidency – One Earth, One Family, One Future. It is our endeavour to share India's experiences, learnings and models as possible templates for others, particularly in the developing world and to promote a universal sense of oneness through enhancing connectivity.
That’s why today for us the redevelopment of the Hanimaadhoo International Airport is, first and foremost, a connectivity project that will bridge the gap between the people of northern Maldives and the rest of the world. This project, which I understand is the largest infrastructure investment in the northern Maldives, will open up new international operations from Hanimaadhoo. It will enable direct travel from the Northern atolls for business, medical and other purposes and further intensify people-to-people exchanges.
This project will have a truly transformative impact on the economy of the northern Maldives – it will help spur entrepreneurship, growth and employment opportunities, encourage tourism development and strengthen allied sectors, including fisheries and logistics – which are critical for the balanced growth of this region.
This project is also a great example of the vision of decentralization of the Government of Maldives. In India too, we place emphasis on inclusive and equitable development.
Excellencies, Friends,
India’s partnership with the Maldives is based on our genuine desire to work together for each other’s welfare and interests. It is a partnership that has enabled us to swiftly and effectively respond to challenges, as we saw recently during the Covid pandemic. It is a partnership that has enabled us to deliver results and bring about tangible benefits to our peoples in accordance with their wishes, aspirations and priorities.
Now we all know that the current complex geopolitical environment has thrown up new disruptions which are impacting every country in the world. The need for cooperation and collaboration has assumed even greater importance in this context. India has extended support to Maldives to address the evolving economic challenges, including through emergency financial assistance. I take this opportunity to strongly reaffirm India’s firm commitment to our continued cooperation.
Friends,
We believe that India’s own development is inseparable from the rest of the world, particularly that of the neighbourhood. Naturally, development cooperation has therefore emerged as a key pillar of our multifaceted partnership with Maldives. India’s development assistance is enabling the Government of Maldives in building infrastructure, broadening its economic base, and making the economy more robust and resilient.
Our comprehensive development partnership covers grants, concessional credit, budgetary support, capacity building and training assistance. We are happy to see these projects take off, getting delivered on the ground and benefiting people – These are the signs of a partnership on the move.
I had an opportunity to visit Addu in March last year and was impressed by the progress of various India-supported projects being implemented there.
Our flagship project – the Greater Malé Connectivity Project – is also progressing well. The pouring of the first concrete was witnessed by the leaders during President Solih’s visit to India in August last year. We are committed to timely implementation of this prestigious project.
The social housing projects in Malé and drinking water & sanitation projects on 34 islands are also doing well and many are nearing completion.
I am delighted that the Gan International Airport Redevelopment project will also soon go into implementation.
Besides these large infrastructure projects, India has also partnered Maldives to undertake smaller but high impact projects, quick gestation community projects. We are already partnering on 45 such projects and I look forward to inauguration of one of these in Fokaidhoo tomorrow. I am happy to share that, earlier today, we have agreed to extend a further MVR 100 million as grant to the Maldives to undertake more projects towards the creation of local island infrastructure and socio-economic development of island communities.
I am also happy to note that, when it comes to people-to-people ties and broadening of economic engagement, we have been doing exceptionally well in the last few years. Since 2020, India has annually contributed the maximum number of tourists to the Maldives and we are truly proud of that. I am confident that with the development of Hanimaadhoo airport, there will be a significant increase in direct connectivity to India and consequently an even larger number of Indian tourists will have a chance to explore the beautiful islands of the north.
Our bilateral trade has witnessed impressive growth with facilitation measures such as visa-free travel, cargo service between our southern ports and Maldives, and overall buoyancy in our development partnership.
Recognizing the importance of the fisheries sector for Maldives’ economic diversification efforts, we have been engaged in 360 degree cooperation. We are supporting projects for storage and processing, and the Indian market is available for export of Maldivian tuna without any import duty. The signing of the contract for expansion of MIFCO facility today will be a major milestone. This project will bring significant benefits to the fishing community all across Maldives.
Friends,
One major achievement in our partnership is our engagement in human resource development. In recent years, we have significantly scaled up our cooperation by launching new programmes in diverse areas. Last year alone, more than 900 Maldivian friends benefited from participation in various in-person training programmes in India. The most recent initiative enables local government representatives to undertake exposure visits and trainings in areas of their interest.
Excellencies, Friends,
Today, with the initiation of the Hanimaadhoo international airport development project, we mark a historic milestone in the robust India-Maldives development partnership. This project has the potential to bring our peoples even closer – and for that reason, it merits our highest attention and our greatest appreciation.
The sheer numbers with which you are all present here today speaks volumes about the significance of this project for the northern Maldives and I want to underline India is privileged to stand together with all of you in its execution.
I congratulate the Government and people of Maldives, Excellency the President to you personally and in particular the people in northern Maldives, on the launch of this project.
It’s again a great honour to join you this evening. I thank you for your attention.
Hanimadhoo
January 18, 2023