New Delhi: Among the issues that are likely to come up when Prime Minister Narendra Modi holds bilateral discussions with visiting Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu here on Monday is the opening of an Indian consulate general in Addu City in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.
Though in a small archipelago nation like Maldives, countries do not maintain separate consulates apart from their embassies or high commissions in capital city Male, India has been keen to open a consulate general in Addu City for quite some time now.
In fact, the Union Cabinet approved the opening of a consulate general in Addu City way back in May 2021. However, this has not materialised till now.
An official release issued at the time of cabinet approval stated that opening of a Consulate General in Addu City will help augment India’s diplomatic presence in the Maldives and make it commensurate with the existing and aspired level of engagement.
“India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity,” it stated. “Maldives occupies an important place in the 'Neighbourhood First Policy' and the 'SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) vision of the Government of India.”
It further stated that the momentum and energy in the bilateral relationship had reached unprecedented levels under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi and then Maldives President Ibrahim Solih.
“This is also a forward-looking step in pursuit of our national priority of growth and development or ‘Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas’,” it further read. “Augmentation of India's diplomatic presence will, inter-alia, provide market access for Indian companies and bolster Indian exports of goods and services. This would have a direct impact in augmenting domestic production and employment in line with our goal of a self-reliant India or ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.”
Addu City is a city in the Maldives that consists of the inhabited islands of Addu atoll, the southernmost atoll of the archipelago. Addu City is the second largest urban area in the Maldives, in terms of population, and is one of the two urban areas to get the status of “city” other than the capital city, Malé, the other being Fuvahmulah.
Addu City has six districts. These are Hithadhoo, Maradhoo-Feydhoo, Maradhoo, Feydhoo, Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo. These divisions are naturally islands, but are well connected. In addition, Addu atoll has other uninhabited islands.
During his visit to the Maldives in August this year, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had inaugurated the India-funded Addu Reclamation and Shore Protection Project and the Addu Detour Link Bridge. Jaishankar said that the $80-million project involved land reclamation for tourism development purposes as well as for the overall economic development of Addu.
Another important project being carried out with Indian assistance is the redevelopment of the Addu roads and drainage system with an outlay of $70 million. This project, which is in its last phase, will provide a solution to problems of water logging and roads in Addu.
“The opening of a consulate general in Addu City will make it more convenient for people in southern Maldives to get Indian visas,” Anand Kumar, Associate Fellow at the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, told ETV Bharat.
“Opening of this consulate general will create a better image of India among the people of the Maldives,” Kumar said.
The Maldives’ proximity to India’s Lakshadweep islands makes maintaining strong ties with the island nation essential for India’s broader neighbourhood diplomacy. By opening a consulate in Addu City, India hopes to deepen people-to-people ties, enhance cultural exchanges, and encourage greater connectivity between the two nations, especially with the southern parts of the Maldives.
People-to-people ties apart, as part of New Delhi’s Neighbourhood First Policy, the Maldives is strategically significant to India because of its location in the Indian Ocean. India and the Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity and enjoy close, cordial and multi-dimensional relations. However, regime instability in the Maldives since 2008 has posed significant challenges to the India-Maldives relationship, particularly in the political and strategic spheres.
Although India continues to be an important partner of the Maldives, New Delhi cannot afford to be complacent over its position and must remain attentive to the developments in the Maldives. India must play a key role within the Indo-Pacific security space to ensure regional security in South Asia and surrounding maritime boundaries. China’s strategic footprint in India’s neighbourhood has increased. The Maldives has emerged as an important ‘pearl’ in China’s “String of Pearls” construct in South Asia.
It is in light of this that by opening a mission in Addu City, India will also have a strategic toehold in southern Maldives apart being able to serve the people of that region.
By establishing a consulate in Addu, India would have a stronger on-the-ground presence, which could improve intelligence gathering and surveillance of maritime activities in the surrounding waters. This move aligns with India’s larger maritime security strategy, which seeks to enhance cooperation with littoral states to secure the Indian Ocean and protect its interests from non-state actors and geopolitical rivals.
Addu was home to a British air and naval base up to 1976, initially built to counter Japan during the Second World War, and then as a key regional staging point.
“The British built a large airfield, which has recently been improved and extended with a runway of 3400 metres,” writes David Brewster of the Australian National University in an article. “The atoll also provides an excellent port, whose facilities are now being improved. Addu’s location makes it perfect for accessing large parts of the central Indian Ocean.”
The Union Cabinet’s approval to open a consulate general in Addu City came at a time when Solih, who was a close ally of India, was the President of the Maldives. However, ties between India and the Maldives became strained when Muizzu was elected President last year. Muizzu had won the presidential election on a pronounced ‘India Out’ campaign. He was also perceived as pro-China.
In recent times, though, various factors have led to ties getting improved with foreign ministers of both India and the Maldives visiting each other’s countries. Muizzu too visited in June this year to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as Prime Minister for the third term.
Now that the Maldives President has come on what is his first bilateral visit to India after assuming office, it will be interesting to see whether a formal decision will be taken regarding opening of an Indian consulate general in Addu City.
