Reciprocal sensitivity a must for ties: EAM S Jaishankar to Male

India completes troop withdrawal
NEW DELHI: Development of India’s ties with the Maldives, as close neighbours, is based on mutual interests and “reciprocal sensitivity”, foreign minister S Jaishankar told his counterpart Moosa Zameer who is in India for the first high-level visit by either side since the pro-China Maldivian president, Mohamed Muizzu, assumed office last year.Jaishankar also underscored before his counterpart the “great value” of close partnerships with neighbours in a volatile and uncertain world.
Bilateral ties between the 2 countries have soured in the past 6 months, with Male looking to limit defence and security cooperation and simultaneously cosying up to China and others to reduce its reliance on India. The meeting took place a day before the May 10 deadline set by Male for the withdrawal of Indian troops who were operating Indian naval choppers and an aircraft in the Maldives.
MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal confirmed later in the day that the process of appointing “competent Indian technical personnel” to keep running these aviation platforms, which are crucial for evacuation and other HADR activities, has been completed. After some intense diplomatic negotiations, India had acquiesced to the replacement of military personnel with civilian staff.
Removal of Indian military personnel dominated Muizzu’s campaign agenda in the run up to the presidential polls and it’s significant the first high-level bilateral visit from the Maldives to India coincided with the fulfilment of his poll promise.
Jaishankar’s emphasis on reciprocal sensitivity is significant as it suggests the Indian Ocean neighbour cannot expect the relationship to be driven by unilateral concessions alone. Welcoming Zameer, he said the visit was an opportunity to discuss the relationship and chart out future directions.
“As close and proximate neighbours, the development of our ties is obviously based on mutual interests and reciprocal sensitivity. As far as India is concerned, these are articulated in terms of our Neighbourhood First policy and SAGAR vision,” said Jaishankar, as he expressed hope that the meeting will enable them to strengthen the convergence of their perspectives in various domains.
Jaishankar also recalled before Zameer India has been a key provider of development assistance to the Maldives, including financial help on favourable terms. Muizzu has sought leniency from India for the repayment of loans taken by previous governments and the issue figured in the meeting.
“Our projects have benefited the people of your country; contributed to the quality of life. They range from infrastructure projects and social initiatives to medical evacuation and health facilities. India has been a first responder on numerous occasions for Maldives,” said Jaishankar, adding bilateral cooperation cooperation had also enhanced the security and well-being of the Maldives through shared activities, equipment provisioning, capacity building and training. There was no major announcement during the visit because of the model code of conduct in place for the ongoing Indian elections.
Jaishankar told Zameer the world is today passing through a volatile and uncertain period and, in such times, like during Covid, natural disasters and economic difficulties, close partnerships with neighbors are of great value.
“It is in our common interest that we reach an understanding on how best we take our relationship forward,” he said, as they discussed additional avenues for taking forward the relationship.
According to Male, they expressed commitment to working closely together bilaterally and in international arena on priority areas of mutual interest.