India unveils $750mn financial aid for Male
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday unveiled a $500-million package to help the Maldives build a connectivity project linking its capital Male with three islands, and provided $250 million as budgetary support to help the Indian Ocean archipelago cope with the Covid-19 crisis.
A new cargo ferry service will be launched between the two countries, and people familiar with developments said this will help India replace other countries to become the Maldives’ top trade partner.
An air travel bubble between the two sides will become operational from August 18, and India also renewed quotas for supplying essential commodities to the Maldives during 2020-21.
The measures were announced during a virtual meeting between external affairs minister S Jaishankar and his Maldives counterpart Abdulla Shahid. Responding to a request from the Maldives, Jaishankar announced India’s decision to back the Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP) through a package comprising a grant of $100 million and a new line of credit for $400 million.
India’s total financial commitment in the Maldives is more than $2 billion, with all loan and grant projects being announced after President Ibrahim Solih came to power in November 2018 and put in place his “India first” policy, the people cited above said.
Thursday’s announcements to help the Maldives came against the backdrop of concerted efforts by India to boost economic aid and connectivity with key neighbours amid the border standoff with China.
Last month, India handed over 10 railway locomotives to Bangladesh, reflecting a renewed focus on its “neighbourhood first” policy.
This came close on the heels of the first cross-border container train reaching Bangladesh with 50 containers of FMCG goods and fabrics and the first shipment of container cargo from Kolkata to Agartala in the landlocked northeastern region via Bangladesh’s Chattogram port.
India also announced a $400million currency swap facility for Sri Lanka under the Saarc framework last month, and Colombo’s request for a bilateral swap facility for $1.1 billion is being considered by New Delhi.
India earlier provided $400 million through an extended currency swap arrangement to the Maldives to tide over a liquidity shortage.
Jaishankar noted on Thursday that GMCP will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in Maldives, connecting Male with the islands of Villingili, Gulhifahu, where a port is being built under an Indian line of credit, and Thilafushi, where a new industrial zone is coming up.
Male and the islands will be linked by a bridge-and-causeway link spanning 6.7km, and the people said the project will easily overshadow the 1.39-km Maldives-china Friendship Bridge, currently the most visible infrastructure project in Male, and help in demonstrating India’s overarching presence in the region.
“Once completed, this landmark project will streamline connectivity between the four islands, thereby boosting economic activity, generating employment and promoting urban development in the Male region,” the external affairs ministry said in a statement.
Solih tweeted: “A landmark moment in Maldives-india cooperation today as we receive Indian assistance of USD250 million as budget support and USD500 million for the Greater Malé Connectivity Project.”
A NEW CARGO FERRY SERVICE WILL BE LAUNCHED BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES
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