India announces U.S. $500 million for Maldives project to counter PRC influence
India has announced a U.S. $500 million package to fund a bridge-and-causeway project to help the Maldives connect its capital Male to three nearby islands, stepping up New Delhi’s diplomatic efforts in a region where the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has also been focusing.
The Indian Ocean island nation, popular with tourists for its beaches and turquoise waters, has become a focal point in the PRC’s One Belt, One Road scheme aimed at building trade and transport links across the region.
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told his Maldivian counterpart, Abdulla Shahid, on August 13, 2020, that New Delhi will support the Male connectivity project with a grant of U.S. $100 million and a new line of credit of U.S. $400 million, the Indian Foreign Ministry said.
Jaishankar said the plan to link Male, pictured, to the islands of Villingili, Gulhifahu and Thilafushi will be the largest civilian infrastructure project in the Maldives, the Foreign Ministry said.
India has sought to regain diplomatic influence in the islands after a new administration led by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih took power following the defeat of the pro-PRC strongman Abdulla Yameen in elections in 2018.
Yameen was convicted of money laundering and sentenced to five years in prison in 2019 after allegations that he awarded contracts to Chinese companies at inflated prices, including for a bridge between Male and the island of Hulhumale.
“Since November 2018, under the leadership of [Indian] Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, India and Maldives have embarked on a dynamic and ambitious phase of the partnership that builds on our enduring ties based on mutual trust and shared interests,” India’s Foreign Ministry said.
