Malé, Maldives – An emergency motion has been filed to the Parliament by MP of Naifaru constituency Ahmed Shiyam, in order to obtain details of the agreement made with the Indian government regarding the development of a naval harbour in Uthuru Thilafalhu.
The motion was accepted by the Parliament with the votes of 51 Members, regarding which Shiyam, during his speech, said that the previous administration did not accept the deal with India due to the terms put forth by the country.
Despite Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) denying that the naval harbour which is to come with a dedicated dockyard for Maldives Coast Guard would have any military personnel stationed there, the opposition have claimed that it is being developed for Indian military personnel to be based there. Shiyam reiterated similar sentiments during his remarks at the Parliament today.
Adding on, MP of Maavashu constituency, Mohamed Saeed also supported Shiyam’s statement, saying that an administration of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) would not endanger the sovereignty of the Maldives and that added that the issue at hand is not the development of the dockyard, but the classification of the agreement as confidential.
The development of this harbour and dockyard in the Uthuru Thilafalhu was something that was discussed back in 2013, during the then Defense Minister Mohamed Nazim’s trip to India.
