The first thing you notice about Indian High Commissioner Akhilesh Mishra is how much he tries to encapsulate bits of Dhivehi into his speech. He welcomed our team with an enthusiastic "Assalaamu alaikum". He spoke enthusiastically for his love of all things Maldivian, a love and interest that is remarkable, especially given that he has been in his position for less than a year. He is charismatic, media savvy and welcoming.
In his first interview to Avas, Mishra talks about how different Maldives is, how we can develop the existing relationships, economic development and regional diplomacy. Here is the full interview of the High Commissioner with excerpts.
What were the first feelings you had when you were appointed as High Commissioner to the Maldives?
Salaam Aaliakum and Marhaba. At the outset, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to greet and connect with the people of Maldives.
I was truly overjoyed and excited to be appointed as the Head of the Mission/Ambassador for an extremely close and friendly, important neighbor like Maldives. Before coming to Toronto as the Consul General, I have had three postings abroad as the Deputy Head of the Mission/Post. So the elevation to the post of High Commissioner to Maldives was a matter of great honour and privilege to me. I had visited Maldives in November 2011 during the SAARC Summit, and was, therefore, aware of the unique natural beauty of Maldives and the warm, welcoming tradition of the Maldivian people.
Few months into your role, you have clearly built a great rapport with the media and the people of the Maldives. How has your time been in Maldives so far?
Indeed, I am profoundly grateful to all the people of Maldives including brothers and sisters in the media, for the love, affection and generous hospitality they have extended to me and my wife. We have had the privilege of visiting many islands of your beautiful country from Addu to Haa Alif and have been overwhelmed by the spontaneous, cordiality and warm welcome with which we have been received. There is widespread, socio-cultural, linguistic, religious and spiritual affinity between the peoples of India and Maldives. Our stay in Maldives has been extremely pleasant and memorable so far, and this makes us deeply grateful to our generous and kind host country Maldives and its people. Varah Bodah Shukriyaa to all. Dharuma Huri.
What are the ongoing projects started by the High Commission in the Maldives?
India and Maldives have an extensive, multifaceted and multilayered partnership and cooperation. Besides the close cooperation at the official and government level, there exists a much deeper and much more extensive interaction at the people’s level. Bilaterally, our priority areas of cooperation are defence and security, capacity building and human resource development and cultural and youth exchange. Annually, the Government of India offers about 270-275 training and human resource development opportunities in India in a wide range of sectors. Our Cultural Centre in Male has been imparting free classes in instrumental and vocal music, dance and yoga as a holistic health care practice to Maldivians. In terms of infrastructure projects, a major renovation of Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital is underway and is likely to be complete in a few months. The Composite Training Centre of MNDF in Maafilaafushi island have been completed. The next phase of the Coastal Radar System is in pipeline. We are also expecting launch of two other projects for construction of a new Defence Ministry building and Institute of Security & Law Enforcement Studies.
Maldives and India have a strong relationship forged over the years. During your tenure how do you plan to further strengthen this relationship?
The relations between India and Maldives are based on longstanding historical, cultural and trade ties going back to several centuries. They are extensive and deep rooted in the affinities at the grassroot level, and go far beyond the formal, diplomatic interactions. It is my sincere wish and hope to nurture and further strengthen the traditionally extremely friendly and cordial ties between the people of our two countries. I am specifically exploring fresh ideas for boosting mutually beneficial linkages in trade and business, education, healthcare, tourism, culture and entertainment, information technology and innovation sectors. I believe it would be a beneficial for us to be guided by the priorities of the Maldivian side and encourage partnerships which are self-sustaining and create jobs and empowerment of our Maldivian brothers and sisters. I would deeply appreciate and welcome constructive suggestions and new ideas from our Maldivian friends, particularly in the private sector. Everywhere I have visited in Maldives, I have been impressed by the pace of economic development, state of health and education facilities and the creativity and talent of Maldivian youth. I see huge opportunity for expanding our grassroot level partnership and cooperation.
Some commenters have remarked that the relationship between Maldives and India had deteriorated over the years? Do you believe that this is an accurate statement?
The relations between India and Maldives are founded on our age old ties of history, culture, language, religion, spirituality, socio-economic exchanges and nature which has inextricably bound together. There are no bilateral contentious issues between India and Maldives as our national interests converge. Our security and wellbeing is deeply interconnected, interdependent and inseparable. The people of our two countries have always enjoyed extremely friendly and cordial relations, and will continue to have so in future as well, Insha Allah. We need to continue to nourish and nurture the precious heritage of friendship that we have traditionally enjoyed in the spirit of mutual respect, trust and transparency and sensitivity to each-others interests and concerns.
What’s your nation’s diplomatic stance on the Maldives, especially in terms of global issues?
The Government and the people of India greatly value friendship with Maldives. We have been working together and consulting each other regularly at various levels. The Government of India has traditionally attached highest priority to Maldives under its neighbourhood first policy. Similarly, the successive governments in Maldives have been following India-First Policy which we deeply appreciate. India would always be there with Maldives, and would be ready to assist Maldives as per its priorities. We look forward to continuing to work together closely for the peace, prosperity, security and wellbeing of the people of our two countries.
India has begun an economic drive under the guidance of PM Modi. What are the lessons Maldives can take from this?
Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi has brought a new hope, vigor and dynamism in India. His vision of a modern India, accelerated, inclusive, sustainable and broad-based economic development, good governance based on transparency, efficiency and accountability, and sweeping policy reforms to make India an easy and convenient place for business and investment, particularly manufacturing, have drastically transformed the way India is perceived by the rest of the world. India, under the leadership of PM Modi, is seen as a bright star, inspiring hope and optimism within the country and globally.
Despite the disparity in size, India and Maldives have many commonalities as fast growing economies, very young and aspirational, tech savvy population and confronting with challenges of poverty, disparity of income distribution, and delivery of services to remote areas. Some of the initiatives launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi in the areas of skill development and grassroot level entrepreneurship, e-governance, telemedicine and tele-education, energy efficiency and greener technologies would be quite relevant to Maldives as well. We are exploring opportunities to build partnerships based on our experience and best practices in our respective countries.
As Indian economy grows, it would also create new opportunities for Maldivian entrepreneurs for business partnerships and attracting greater number of Indian tourists visiting Maldives. A few days ago, I was privileged to join our Maldivian friends in welcoming the Indian tourist marking the 1 millionth visitor to Maldives this year. I am glad to learn that number of Indian tourists has grown about 20% this year.
Your nation just sent a strong message to the world about not tolerating terrorism. Do you believe this will impact your foreign relations in this region?
For many years India has been a victim of terrorism, sponsored from across the border. Many other countries have also suffered hugely due to the misguided policies of a country in the region to use terror as an instrument of policy. The misdeeds of one country, which has emerged as the epicenter of global terrorism, has tarnished the peaceful image of all South Asians, particularly Muslims. All peace loving people in the region, therefore, need to work together to put an end to sponsorship and patronage of terror and misuse of the name of Islam. Terrorism is now recognized globally as the most serious threat to peace and stability and human rights. The international community cannot allow nurturing, harboring, sponsorship and glorification of terrorists. We look forward to working together with all friendly countries to put an end to this menace of terrorism. We deeply appreciate the strong support and solidarity of the Government and the people of Maldives with India in dealing with cross-border terrorism.
