Indian Council of World Affairs

Excellency, during your tenure as President of the UN General Assembly,  your steadfast commitment, to move forward  the global agenda, at a time when the world was dealing with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, was deeply appreciated. You spoke of  hope  when there was despondency and you emphasised the need to have courage to meet challenges. With enormous skill, Excellency, you provided leadership to  the UN General Assembly and earned international recognition. Your stellar role brought to the fore the positive role Maldives plays in multilateral and regional platforms, particularly in articulating the perspectives and concerns of SIDS-the Small Island developing states, including their climate vulnerability.   

In fact, Maldives own approach towards climate resilient development is worth of emulation.  We look forward to your Lecture today on the Power of Small-The Maldives Story,  which is a story of great fortitude  with a  promise of great hope. Maldives’ economic rise and its transformation into one of the leading tourist destinations in the world, is phenomenal. It was Maldives deft handling during the COVID pandemic, which was a balanced approach of caution, combined with openness for tourists, that stood as an example to the world.  And today, you continue to surpass your own tourist arrival targets. For the Indian traveller, Maldives is among the most sought-after tourist destinations and for Maldives, India has remained the top source market for the third year running. 

Minister, you have been a principal architect of the revamped India-Maldives friendship and cooperation that has expanded rapidly. The continuous engagements between the leaderships of the two countries has been the driving force for this relationship. 

Maldives is a close friend with whom India shares cultural, economic, and people-to-people linkages that go back centuries. It is natural, therefore, for our trade flows to be reflective of these close ties and, today, India is the top trading partner for Maldives.

Our development cooperation is reflected in the  number and scale of projects being carried out under grant and concessional credit throughout the islands. Further, the India-Maldives partnership is characterised by training initiatives which now have expanded to include parliamentary, judicial and civil services, customs and audit, ICT, education and health training programmes. Capacity building has emerged as a central pillar of our cooperation. 

The ‘India First’ policy of Maldives and the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy of India have acted in concert for the benefit of our peoples. Maldives occupies a special place in India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy and is a key partner for India in the Indian Ocean Region. India-Maldives partnership is  also a source of peace, stability and prosperity for the region.

With these words,  may I now invite, H.E. Abdulla Shahid, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives to deliver the lecture on the theme “The power of Small: The Maldives Story.

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