An agreement has been made to establish a Maritime Rescue Coordination Training Facility in Villimalle'.

The exchange of notes to establish the Maritime Rescue Coordination Training Facility was signed between Japan and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Wednesday.

The agreement will see a training facility established within the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center in Villimale'. The facility will be established in association with Japan and the UNODC as per the exchange of notes signed on Wednesday in the presence of Minister of Defense Mariya Ahmed Didi.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Minister Mariya extended gratitude to the government and people of Japan for financing such a critical project for the Maldives. She added that Japan was a close and important friend to the Maldives in supporting the nation's development, and noted the fact as apparent in a number of Japan-aided infrastructure initiatives across different sectors. Minister Mariya said that the relationship of mutual support and aid between the Maldives and Japan was an example of one island nation rising to help the other.

In her speech, Minister Mariya highlighted that serious risks presented to maritime security had become more apparent in light of the global covid-19 pandemic, including illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, piracy, maritime theft, terrorism and extremism, and severe crimes of narcotics and human trafficking through ocean routes. Minister Mariya affirmed the importance afforded to strengthen, maintain and secure maritime safety in the Maldives by the Solih administration, especially in light of how 99.7 percent of the Maldives consists of open ocean areas.

Noting that the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) in Villimale' currently oversaw all of Coast Guards search and rescue operations, Minister Mariya expressed hopes that the functional efficacy and capacity of the MNDF Coast Guard would be increased tremendously following the establishment of the training facility at the center. Minister Mariya went on to thank UNODC for their role in establishing the training facility. She also highlighted that the equipment provided to the MRCC last August by the UNODC with aid from Japan had brought significant conveniences to the operations at the MRCC.

In addition to Defense Minister Mariya, the Ambassador of Japan to Maldives Keiko Yanai and the UNODC Crime Prevention and Crime Justice Officer of the Global Maritime Crime Programme Masatomo Yamaguchi took part in the signing ceremony, along with State Minister for Foreign Affairs Ahmed Khaleel and Chief of Defense Force Major General Abdulla Shamaal, who were also in attendance at the ceremony on Wednesday.