No New Maritime Agreement says the High Commission

Sri Lankan High Commission in the Maldives has disproved signing of a new maritime agreement with the Maldives allowing Sri Lankan fishing vessels to enter Maldivian territorial waters on their way to Arabian Sea.

Maldivian media brought out the news of such an agreement after Sri Lanka’s Deputy External Minister Neomal Perera was quoted in Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror newspaper as saying a new maritime agreement had been signed between both the countries.

According to Daily Mirror, Sri Lankan Fishermen, whose journey to the Arabian Sea, generally have to take a longer route to avoid trespassing onto Maldivian waters. “Those who travel from the west of India have to take a longer route,” Deputy Minister of External Affairs Neomal Perera was quoted in the newspaper. Daily Mirror claimed that the new agreement provides that if authorities are informed in advance of a Sri Lankan vessel approaching Maldivian waters, safe passage through to the Arabian Sea could be ensured. “If those traveling could inform our Embassy in the Maldives by Fax or E-mail 48 hours in advance, then arrangements could be made for them to travel through Maldivian waters,” Neomal Perera was quoted. Daily Mirror also says that he added that this would save vessels time and fuel costs.

However the Maldivian Fisheries Minister Dr Ibrahim Didi and Foreign Minister Ahmed Naseem denied signing a new maritime agreement with Sri Lanka. And the President’s Press Secretary Mohamed Zuhair said foreign vessels are allowed even now under the UN Convention on Law of the Sea.