Former Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and his Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) came under fire Saturday over conflicting comments he made in Indian media about the termination of the agreement between the government and India's GMR to develop and run the Male airport.
Gayoom, who was in India last week on the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said Friday that the largest foreign investment in the Maldives came to an “unhappy ending” because the government did not discuss it with GMR and the Indian government.
The former president, who ruled the Maldives for 30 years, criticised how the government handled the termination of the 25-year agreement with the Indian infrastructure giant to develop and run the Maldives only operational international airport.
“I am sad that this has somehow affected our bilateral relations. We want to overcome that and restore our relationship with India to its former level,” he said.
Gayoom also admitted that the termination of the agreement has caused tensions between the Maldives and India with Maldivians travelling to the country facing many difficulties in acquiring visas to India, especially for medical purposes.
08/06/13 Ahmed Hamdhoon/Haveeru Online
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Gayoom, who was in India last week on the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, said Friday that the largest foreign investment in the Maldives came to an “unhappy ending” because the government did not discuss it with GMR and the Indian government.
The former president, who ruled the Maldives for 30 years, criticised how the government handled the termination of the 25-year agreement with the Indian infrastructure giant to develop and run the Maldives only operational international airport.
“I am sad that this has somehow affected our bilateral relations. We want to overcome that and restore our relationship with India to its former level,” he said.
Gayoom also admitted that the termination of the agreement has caused tensions between the Maldives and India with Maldivians travelling to the country facing many difficulties in acquiring visas to India, especially for medical purposes.
08/06/13 Ahmed Hamdhoon/Haveeru Online
