The Government has announced that it would not renew the agreement made with India on Hydrography Survey in the Maldives.
Speaking at the Press Conference held at the President's Office after the Cabinet meeting today, Under Secretary for Public Policy Mohamed Firuzul said that part of the 'Hafthaa-14' roadmap was to revoke bilateral and diplomatic agreements with other countries that would put the country's sovereignty in danger.
He said that under this work, the President and his cabinet have decided not to renew the Hydrography agreement between the two countries and that as per agreement dictates one party can decide not to renew the current agreement six months before it expires in June 2024.
Firuzul said that the agreement also dictates that if a party does not indicate its decision not to renew the agreement, the agreement would be valid for five more years.
He further said that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu and his cabinet want to retain information and data about the country's waters within the country itself.
The Under Secretary also said that the government wants to build this capacity within the armed forces Maldives National Defense Force MNDF and that budget allocations would be made to develop resources for such work within the MNDF.
He added that ocean hydrography survey work would now be done under Maldivian authority only.
The Maldives and India signed the agreement in June 2018 with Indian navy ships making several trips across the Maldives for the survey.
