India no longer needs to worry over Maldives: Defence Minister

Defence Minister Mariya Ahmed Didi has said that India no longer has any need to worry over Maldives, since its new government and the government of India share the same democratic values.

The Defence Minister said this in an interview with ANI News on Friday during her visit to India.

In the interview, Minister Mariya said India also need not worry over China’s influence in Maldives since the people have voted for democratic values and want to see more interactions with democratic countries in the future. However, she added that China is also an important friend to the Maldives.

Minister Mariya also praised India’s decision to extend coastal surveillance radar system in the Maldives and said that the Indian helicopters have recently saved 10 Maldivians via medical evacuations. She added that there are certain emergency situations where Maldives can only operate with the Indian-gifted helicopters.

She said she will also discuss with India on providing air ambulance services, as proposed by Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Speaking to Indian news outlet WION, Mariya said India respects Maldives’ sovereignty and have never discussed its relationship with other countries.

Highlighting the importance of Maldives’ relationship with India, Mariya said that the neighboring country has always come to the rescue during emergency situations such as during the attempted coup in capital city Male’ in 1988, and that India was the first responders during the 2004 Tsunami and the 2014 Male’ water crisis.

Also speaking to WION, Maldives defence chief Abdulla Shamaal said that during their trip to India, they have been discussing capacity-building of Maldives armed forces by providing training opportunities, exchange of visits, and military exercises.

He said the main focus of the discussions is on the protection and safety of the greater India ocean region.