NEW DELHI: On ‘The Gist‘, Abdulla Shahid, the Foreign Minister of Maldives and President-elect of the UN General Assembly in a comprehensive chat with StratNews Global Associate Editor Amitabh P. Revi. Threats and personal attacks in the ‘India Out’ campaign in the Maldives, he says, are being conducted by “a group in a minority that is given some sort of credence by the opposition’s rhetoric and actions,” adding, “the opposition has no foreign policy but to play one country against the other.”
In this extensive interview, Abdulla Shahid discusses the May 6 assassination attempt on former President Mohamed Nasheed, radicalisation, the current Majlis Speaker and ruling party head Nasheed’s broadsides against President Ibrahim Solih and his own government, Nasheed’s announcement to run for President in 2023 and his call for a referendum to shift to a parliamentary democracy. Shahid also talks about India’s high impact projects, defence ties and security in the Indian Ocean, debt to China and New Delhi’s financial assistance during the pandemic as well as his priorities as UNGA President-elect, including reform to reflect world geopolitical realities.
