MP for Naifaru Constituency Ahmed Shiyam has today submitted an emergency motion at the parliament demanding the details of the Uthurufalhu (UTF) Habour Development Project agreement signed with India yesterday.
The agreement that tasks India to help build a harbor and a coast guard dockyard was signed by Defense Minister Maria Ahmed Didi on behalf of the Maldives and by Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar before concluding his two-day trip to the Maldives yesterday.
Regarding the agreement, MP Shiyam said in his emergency motion that the agreement was signed without the consent of the Parliament and that this agreement concerns the national security of the country.
MP Shiyam also said that sources have confirmed that the agreement stipulates that the Indian military would be stationed at the harbor in order to maintain the harbor and dockyard. He also alluded that instead of using terms like 'Military Personel', the agreement had used words like 'Officials' and 'Technicians' to hide Indian involvement.
He implored that the parliament must be privy to any agreement that concerns the national security of the country. He also voiced concerns about the mounting debt and said that it is a worry shared by the whole country.
Meanwhile, Former Housing Minister Mohamed Muizzu said on Twitter yesterday that in the interest of the people of Male' and the country as a whole, it is important that the details of this agreement are transparently revealed to the public.
He added that the details must be revealed so as to ease the worries surrounding the agreement as reported in the media.
