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The press indicated that the Maldives would not be renewing its deal with India for the hydrographic survey. A news website from the Maldives is called The Press. The Maldives' Under Secretary for Public Policy, Mohamed Firuzul, stated that rescinding diplomatic and bilateral agreements with other nations that might jeopardize the nation's sovereignty was a component of the "Hafthaa-14" agenda.
The press indicated that the Maldives would not be renewing its deal with India for the hydrographic survey. A news website from the Maldives is called The Press. The Maldives’ Under Secretary for Public Policy, Mohamed Firuzul, stated that rescinding diplomatic and bilateral agreements with other nations that might jeopardize the nation’s sovereignty was a component of the “Hafthaa-14” agenda. Firuzul was speaking at a conference that followed the Cabinet meeting on Thursday and was hosted by the President’s Office of the Maldives. He stated that the President of the Maldives and his cabinet had opted not to extend the hydrography agreement between India and the Maldives, adding that one party could choose not to renew the current agreement as per the terms stipulated, six months before it expires in June 2024, according to The Press. On June 8, 2019, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the Maldives, an agreement for a hydrographic survey was inked. India was permitted by the agreement to carry out an extensive investigation of the island nation’s territorial waters, encompassing reefs, lagoons, coastlines, ocean currents, and tidal levels.
From January 19 to February 26, 2023, the Indian Naval Ship Investigator (INS Investigator) conducted the third joint hydrographic survey on behalf of the Indian Navy and the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF). The Indian Navy vessel conducted a survey of the Northern Maldives, encompassing the atolls of Ihavandhippolhu, Thiladhanmatee, and Gallandhu Kandu. The Press reports that Indian Navy ships have traveled across the Maldives multiple times since 2018 in order to conduct the survey. The agreement also stipulates that it will remain in effect for a further five years if a party does not indicate that it wishes to not renew, according to the Under Secretary for Public Policy of the Maldives. President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives and his cabinet, according to Mr. Firuzul, wish to keep data and information regarding the nation’s waterways inside the nation. The Under Secretary added that funds would be set aside in the budget to develop resources for this kind of work inside the MNDF and that the government aims to increase this capacity within the armed forces. The survey work on ocean hydrography, he continued, will now be carried out solely by Maldivians.
