The governments of Maldives and India have signed six Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) to undertake six development projects in southernmost Addu City and Hoarafushi island in Haa Alif atoll.
The signing took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday, where Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid signed on behalf of the government and the High Commissioner of India to the Maldives, Sunjay Sudhir signed on behalf of the Indian government. On behalf of the implementing agency, the Mayor of Addu City and President of Hoarafushi Island Council signed the MoUs as well.
The projects are to set up a water plant in Hoarafushi, to develop tourism zones in Hithadhoo, Hulhudhoo, Maradhoo, Feydhoo and Meedhoo districts in Addu City.
The government of India is set to provide financial support of MVR 7,664,063 for development projects in all five districts of Addu City.
The installation of a water plant in Hoarafushi is expected to cost MVR 8 million. FM Shahid revealed that all six projects are worth MVR 38,320,303.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, High Commissioner Sudhir stated that there are many more projects to come under the Indian line of credit of USD 800 million and that as democracies, the mutual efforts of Maldives and India is that all processes including price discovery of the projects should be done in a transparent manner and must involve the Maldivian government at all stages. As such, the tendering for the projects to come under the MoUs signed on Sunday will be tendered by the Maldivian government and not by the government of India.
Signing of the six MoUs today signifies the commitment of the govt of India to be a close development partner of Maldives. I’m confident that these tourism and water projects will bring direct benefits to the residents of Addu and Hoarafushi as well as to the environment. Our effort is to share the fruits and experience of our own developmental journey of the last seven decades since India got independence. India’s development partnership strategy is demand-driven. It does not focus on big projects alone, but also includes high impact community development projects which directly touch the lives of common people. India is also partnering in big projects on water and sanitation, roads, reclamation, fisheries, cancer hospital and cricket stadium”Sunjay Sudhir
Also speaking at the signing ceremony, FM Shahid acknowledged the Indian government’s assistance in evacuating the seven Maldivians from Wuhan City, China on Sunday morning. He went on to express sincere gratitude towards the Indian government for the commitment shows.
Further, the minister said that the Maldivian people are “indeed grateful” for hosting them and taking such good care of them at such a critical time.
Maldives and India share this vision of empowering people at a community level and we thank India for its continuous support in realizing the development goals of the Maldives working with us to realize our priorities. I take this opportunity to extend our appreciation to Prime Minister Modi for his personal commitments towards strengthening relationship between our two countries, as well as to External Affairs Minister Dr. Jaishankar for his steadfast commitment in ensuring that these projects deliver. Finally, I would also like to thank High Commissioner and your team at the High Commission for your commitment and dedication towards the people of the Maldives.”FM Shahid
The projects will come under the Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects through local bodies, signed during March 2019.
The ministry revealed that the MoUs reflect the government’s commitment to improve the socioeconomic wellbeing and public welfare especially in areas of health, education and community empowerment sectors. Said projects are also expected to empower local councils.
