“President Solih Will Win Another Term; Opposition Has No Concrete Policy, Only ‘India Out’ Slogan'”

New Delhi: On ‘Talking Point’, Abdulla Shahid, the Foreign Minister of the Maldives and President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly Session in 2022 in conversation with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi.

“Maldives-India relations have never been better,” Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid says “commitments are being met by action”. On Indian financial aid, he says “it has been very transparent and accounted for,” adding “as for other countries through which we have raised debt, we are very proud that we have been able to keep the payments going and we will continue to pay”. The Minister is confident “President Solih will win a second term”, saying “a highly contested (ruling party MDP) primary is behind us now”. On the ‘India Out’ campaign, he insists such “slogans are used by the opposition to target India because they don’t have concrete policies and they can only foment hatred”.

Watch Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid’s interview for more on bilateral relations, multilateral partnerships including the Colombo Security Conclave, high impact, people centric projects, defence and security projects including the Coast Guard Uthuru Thilafalhu (UTF) harbour, coastal radar system, the Presidential election, and the Minister’s tenure as the President of the 76th United Nations General Assembly.