Indian Council of World Affairs

Thank you very much Ambassador Singh for that generous introduction. And also for the very warm welcome.

It has always been a pleasure to visit Sapru House - I believe this is my third time speaking here.

The last time I visited - almost 2 years ago - I had just been elected to the Presidency of the General Assembly. I spoke here about my plans for the “Presidency of Hope”, and the challenges I envisioned, including challenges to multilateralism and the international order.

I believe it is safe to say that the Presidency was in many ways what I expected. But also full of unexpected challenges.

But one thing is clear - the Presidency was certainly an opportunity like no other. Especially for a small island State like the Maldives.

Prior to the Maldives, only five other Small Island States had served in that capacity. And if we look beyond the General Assembly Presidency, let’s say, for example, the Security Council, out of the 60 countries that have never served on the Council, 27 - nearly half - are Small Island Developing States.

These numbers are even more startling when you consider that 20 percent of the United Nations membership are Small Island Developing States.

It is easy to understand why Small Island States like the Maldives - or even Small States, who’s numbers are a bit higher - find it difficult to stand up for these roles.

Our resources - human and financial - are limited.

Our reach is limited.

The cost of engagement is higher. And so, our access is limited.

Making us less effective, and less visible.

Often, there are questions about our ability to serve effectively, and our capacity to engage constructively.

That was certainly the sentiment when the Maldives applied for membership of the United Nations, over 57 years ago - just a month after our independence.

When the matter was considered in the Security Council some members of the Council questioned the ability of very small States to carry out the obligations of the UN Charter. They cast doubts about our ability to undertake the responsibilities of a responsible member of the international community. So much so, they considered a separate category of membership - associate membership - without the ability to vote.

So then,

How do small States survive in this context?

How do small States overcome their limitations?

How do small States turn their perceived weaknesses, to their advantage?

In the nearly 58 years since the Maldives began implementing an independent foreign policy, we have adopted many strategies to adapt to our circumstances. And I would like to say, those strategies have been successful.

I call them the three “P” s.

First - We adopted a principled approach.

The first foreign policy decision of the independent Maldives was to join the United Nations.

Why?

Other countries have taken different routes at independence. Some prioritized cultivating relationships with neighbours, or joining regional organisations. Many took their time, in joining the United Nations.

But small States have often prioritized the UN over others. Consider for example, Singapore, another small island state, which also was admitted as a member on 21 September 1965 - the same day as the Maldives. Singapore applied for membership on 3 September 1965, less than a month after it separated from Malaysia on 9 August 1965. This is the case with several small States as well.

The reason is simple.

For small States, being accepted into multilateral organisations - of which the biggest is the United Nations - becomes an international endorsement of their sovereignty and integrity. It becomes an acceptance of the country as an equal member of the international community.

It is international law, and the principles that govern multilateralism, that give small States an equal footing. Before the law, it doesn’t matter how big or how small you are, how rich or how poor. You are afforded equal rights, and you take on equal responsibilities. At the United Nations, every country, has one vote, and six seats in the General Assembly Hall.

This is also why small states have not hesitated from taking on the big issues. Let me give you one example.

One of the biggest shocks to the multilateral system in recent years, has been the war in Ukraine which began in February 2022. This was during my Presidency of the General Assembly. The Security Council - that was mandated to address these kinds of issues - was deadlocked. No action could be taken. Some declared the end of the United Nations itself.

But there are in-built mechanisms for these kinds of situations within the United Nations working methods. The Security Council referred the matter to the General Assembly under the Uniting for Peace resolution. And the General Assembly met in Emergency Special Session format and considered the first resolution on the war in Ukraine. 141 countries voted in favour of the resolution.

Now what is interesting is, of the 141 countries that voted for that resolution, an overwhelming majority were small States.

Small States that day, stood for principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Small States stood up for multilateralism. Because Small States realise the power, the importance, of principles. That it is these principles, that offer the space, the opportunity for small States to act on equal footing. And when violations of these principles occur, small States don’t hesitate to stand up to defend them - even at cost to themselves - because, they are standing up for themselves. For their rights.

This is what the Maldives has done as well, over several times.

Mercenaries attacked the capital city Male’ in November 1988. They were not successful. With the timely support of our friends - especially India - our National Defense Force thwarted the attack. But it exposed a grim reality. The extreme vulnerability of countries like us to such attacks.

We put our faith in the principles of the United Nations Charter. We went to the United Nations, with a resolution entitled “Protection and security of Small States”, asking the Secretary General to continue to pay special attention to monitor the security situation of small States, given that they are particularly vulnerable to external threats and acts of interference in their internal affairs. We put our faith in multilateralism. In the international system. In the principles that guide the international community, for our protection, and for our safeguarding our independence.

So that is the first strategy - being “Principled”.

The second strategy is, we adopted a “pragmatic” approach.

A pragmatic approach dictates that we do what is best for the Maldives. What serves our national interest the most.

The Maldives is the heart of the Indian Ocean. This strategic location comes with serious responsibility. And serious exposure to competing external interests.

The Maldives recognises and understands the crucial space we occupy in the Indian Ocean. We understand our responsibility in maintaining peace and security, in the Indian Ocean. We understand our role in it.

Because we have always recognised that the fates of the Indian Ocean and that of ours is connected. That a stronger, prosperous, and democratic Maldives is necessary for maintaining strategic stability of the Indian Ocean. And that a peaceful, secure, safe, Indian Ocean is crucial to a prosperous Maldives.

This is why, we have cultivated and maintained strategic and mutually beneficial relationships, that will enable us to contribute to the efforts in holding order in the Indian Ocean. Relationships, that will build resilience within our country - whether that be economic resilience, climate resilience, or institutional resilience.

A key partner in this regard is India. One of the first acts of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, after he took office, was to meet with the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi, who as you know, was present at the swearing in ceremony of the President in November 2018. And since, the relationship between our countries have been exemplary. India’s support, the generosity of its people, is felt in every aspect of Maldivian society, and Maldivian economy. And India is contributing in a big way, to the development of the country, to the development of resilience in the Maldives.

We have also long-since recognized the indispensable role that the United States plays in the Indian Ocean as well. And we enjoy extremely important, and mutually beneficial partnerships with Japan, Australia, China, and a host of other countries, in striving for economic and social development.

What we seek, is to not pit one country against the another - or one relationship against another. What we seek is partnership and cooperation. For our stability and prosperity, which in turn contributes to the region’s stability and order.

This is what I mean by a “pragmatic” approach - the second strategy.

The third approach we have used in our foreign policy, is prioritization.

Like many other small States, the Maldives has always prioritized issues in its foreign policy implementation.

Because of our small size, and that of our foreign service, we simply cannot be everywhere, and do everything. We choose the right battles at the right time. And the choice is often dictated by national priorities - the pragmatic approach!

And climate change has always been on top of that agenda.

As early as 1987, the Maldives was talking about sea level rise and global warming. Because we had already started seeing the impacts. Devastating tidal waves had engulfed the capital city in 1987 signaled the beginning of a changing climate. And President Maumoon - who was the Maldives President at the time - alarmed by these unseasonal and unusual waves, took up the issue of vulnerability of low-lying island States to environmental hazards and the need for global attention and response to these issues, first to the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Vancouver in 1987. He received a lukewarm response.

Undeterred, he took the message to the United Nations General Assembly, then to the Summit meeting of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, within a period of less than a month. The Maldives continued to persist.

It was in Maldives in 1989, that the small island states - 14 of them - with several experts and resource persons, and observers of donor countries met for the first time, to discuss sea level rise and small States. The need to address the adverse impacts of sea level rise and environmental degradation was highlighted in the Meeting’s declaration - the Male’ Declaration on Global Warming and Sea Level Rise.

And it was in the Maldives, that these small countries, agreed to form an alliance and work together. Following this meeting and in the coming months, in the lead up to the Rio Summit, the Maldives along with Trinidad and Tobago, and Vanuatu, led the efforts to form the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). Today AOSIS is the premier organization regarding all things related to climate change, and small island developing States. Maldives has been an active Member of AOSIS since its conception. And Maldives has also chaired the Alliance from 2015-2018.

Today, on climate change issues, we can safely say we are a thought leader, and a bridge builder. For instance, in the last COP we played a bridging role between countries which led to a successful conclusion - including the long awaited agreement to establish the Loss and Damage Fund. And today, we are on the transitional committee, helping to shape that fund.

In addition to climate change, we have always prioritized the welfare of small States - always spoke up for Small States.

One of the key initiatives we took very early on at the Human Rights Council when we were first elected, was to establish a Trust Fund for the Least Developed Countries and the Small Island Developing States. This Trust Fund supports diplomats from LDCs and SIDS, in particular those without permanent representation in Geneva, to participate and contribute to the work of the Council. To date, this Fund has supported the participation of over 100 SIDS and LDCs in Human Rights Council sessions.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Maldives story showcases the journey of how a small State navigated the perils of international diplomacy through adapting, and adjusting. It demonstrates how a small State can defend itself, and defend others, and their interests infront of bigger States and in global settings.

Above all, the Maldives story is proof that size does not determine destiny. That small does not mean unable. It is proof of the power of small.

I thank you.

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