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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Foreign secretary arrives in Maldives to mend bilateral ties
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Foreign secretary arrives in Maldives to mend bilateral ties

The visit is seen as an attempt to reach out to the Indian Ocean atoll nation, against the backdrop of recent strains in ties

A file photo of foreign secretary S. Jaishankar. Photo: Arvind Yadav/HTPremium
A file photo of foreign secretary S. Jaishankar. Photo: Arvind Yadav/HT

New Delhi: Foreign secretary S. Jaishankar on Monday arrived in the Maldives on the last leg of a string of visits to South Asian countries that began in March, seen as an attempt to reach out to the Indian Ocean atoll nation, against the backdrop of recent strains in ties with the country showing a pro-China tilt.

“Completing the #SAARC Yatra for a safe, secure & prosperous South Asia. FS Dr Jaishankar arrives in #Maldives today," foreign ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup tweeted.

Saarc refers to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation that brings together Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Jaishankar’s visit follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi last Sunday hailing the Maldives as a valued partner of India in the Indian Ocean region on the occasion of the country celebrating 50 years of independence. India was represented at the ceremonies in Male by health minister J.P. Nadda.

These gestures follow a strain in ties between India, the main country in the region, and the mainly Sunni Muslim nation of more than 1,200 atolls and home to a population of 400,000 people that sits astride some of the busiest sea lanes in the world.

India has been upset by a series of steps taken by the Maldives in recent times that tilts it towards China. A case in point—Maldivian President Abdullah Yameen’s backing for China’s Silk Road initiative, a trade route from China’s Fujian province to the Mediterranean Sea via South Asia and East Africa.

Chinese President Xi Jinping won Yameen’s support when he visited Maldives in September ahead of his visit to India.

And two weeks ago, Maldives amended its constitution to allow foreign nationals and entities the right to own freehold land reclaimed from the sea, including entire islands, a move that is seen by some quarters as an attempt to allow China acquire space for a possible military base in the Maldives.

Concerns stem from the rising Chinese naval profile in the Indian Ocean region, which India considers its backyard. It is also wary of China’s inroads into countries like Sri Lanka that are in India’s periphery.

Underlining India’s primacy in South Asia has been one of Modi’s key foreign policy aims since taking office in May last year. Yameen was one of the Saarc leaders invited to Modi’s swearing-in ceremony on 26 May last year.

And in March this year, Modi undertook a visit to three Indian Ocean countries—Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. Modi was to visit the Maldives, but it was cancelled at the last minute.

Maldives on its part has been riled by India’s perceived support to former president Mohammed Nasheed, who was elected in 2008 in the first democratic elections in three decades. Nasheed quit in February 2012 but has been trying to make a comeback since then.

In March, Modi called off a visit to the Maldives that was originally part of his Indian Ocean trip.

According to two people familiar with the developments, India decided against the visit as it would have been seen as endorsement of the Maldivian government’s measures against Nasheed.

With Modi cancelling his visit, Jaishankar’s trip is expected to fill this “political gap", former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal said, adding that it would provide both countries an opportunity to sort out their concerns.

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Published: 04 Aug 2015, 01:28 AM IST
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