India, Maldives had inked pact during EAM’s 2021 visit for MNDF Ekatha Harbour construction

New Delhi/Male, May 3 (Bureau) The foundation stone laying ceremony for the Maldivian National Defence Force ‘Ekatha Harbour’, jointly performed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Maldivian counterpart Mariya Ahmed Didi, stems from an agreement that both nations inked during the visit of EAM S Jaishankar to Maldives in February 2021. The Indian High Commission in Male tweeted: “Foundation Stone for MNDF ‘Ekatha harbour’ was jointly laid by RM Rajnath Singh & Defence Minister Mariya Didi. FM Abdulla Shahid also joined. GoI is committed to support capacity building and capability enhancement of MNDF.” During EAM’s visit in 2021, India signed a pact with Maldives to develop, support and maintain a harbour for the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and Coast Guard for maritime security in the region.

As part of it, India is to also support development of other infrastructure needed for the harbour, support the development of communications resources and radar services, and provide training. The pact was signed in view of the request by Maldives in April 2013 for India’s support and cooperation in enhancing the capability of the MNDF in maritime surveillance, and follow-up requests in 2015 and 2016. The dockyard is being developed at the Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) Naval Base, northwest of Male, and will help strengthen the Maldivian defence capabilities The Maldives, an archipelago made up of 1,192 coral islands, situated in the Indian Ocean, has a land area of just 300 sq km, with a population of over 5,00,000. The Maldives’ strategic location can be gauged from the fact that located at the southern and northern parts of the island chain are the only two passages through which ships can pass safely. These two sea lanes of communication (SLOCs) are critical for maritime trade flow between the Gulf of Aden and Gulf of Hormuz in West Asia and the Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia. While the Indian Ocean is considered as the key highway for global trade and energy flow, Maldives virtually stands as a toll gate. The two SLOCs are of vital importance for India. During EAM Jaishankar’s visit in 2021, India had also signed a USD 50 million defence Line of Credit agreement with Male to boost the maritime capabilities of the island nation. The USD 50 million credit line agreement for defence projects was signed between the Finance Ministry of Maldives and the Export Import Bank of India.