President shares views on airport issue with political parties

Some political parties have said that President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has shared his thoughts on the issue of Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) having been given to GMR by the previous government.

Leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Ahmed Thasmeen Ali said that the President had sent a letter to DRP, in which he had expressed that proceeding with the agreement made with GMR would not be optimal for the Maldivian government.

The President had also said that annulment of the agreement would result in the government having to pay a large sum of money as compensation, which he had estimated would be around $700 million.

He had noted that it would not be easy for the government to make this payment, and also highlighted that the annulment of the agreement could deter foreign investors from Maldives.

In his letter, President Waheed had said that such a decision might have adverse effects on the bilateral relations between Maldives and India.

Thasmeen said that DRP will think comprehensively before taking a stand on this issue.

He said that the doubts surrounding the legitimacy of the agreement can only be settled by the Court.

Vice President of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Umar Naseer confirmed that PPM had also received a letter from the President in relation to this issue.

“The President had shared information on this issue, and we are currently studying it,” he said.

Government Spokesperson Abbas Adil Riza said that he had not been ‘officially informed’ of such a letter by the President.

Another official of the President’s Office said that the President had sent a letter to political parties to share his views on the GMR issue.

The political parties included in the government coalition, excluding DRP, announced the commencement yesterday of efforts to reclaim the airport from GMR, entitled “Maldivians’ airport back to Maldivians”.