Malé, Maldives – Speaking from London to international media Wion, Former President and Current Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed called upon China to restructure their debt, adding that it will be very difficult to pay back the money.
In his first television interview since the terror attack against him on May 6, Mohamed Nasheed expressed concerns over the extremist elements in his country.
Speaking to international media WION’s Sidhant Sibal, Nasheed said that their politicians, the liberal-minded politicians must come together, sit down and must work together so that they have a platform that is more liberal in its outlook.
When asked about the ideological difference between him and President Ibrahim Mobamed Solih, he said, their party will remain united and that he cannot see any harm or any serious split between himself and the President.
Nasheed previously said that he can no longer have a political relationship with President Solih, although their personal relationship remains strong.
Reiterating the ‘India first policy’, Nasheed called for all political parties, including the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives, to work together with the country’s long time neighbor India and said that they should have a special relation with India.
Additionally, he also expressed worries over the Chinese debt, explaining that they call upon China to restructure the debt and it still hasn’t happened.
Nasheed, when questioned about his plans to ensure China does not increase it’s influence, said that one of the things they did was to reassess the nation’s debt. He added that the parliament has worked very hard in assessing how much the country is in debt to different Chinese companies, banks, and also the Chinese state.
We call upon China to restructure the debt but it still hasn’t happened. Due to the already existing financial difficulties and considering that the projects we spent money on were not financially viable, it will be very difficult to pay back the money
Former President and Current Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed
