Thursday, 29 November 2012

Maldives airport fiasco: India reacts sharply


A day after the cancellation of India’s biggest investment ever, there is not much chance that the Mohamed Waheed regime will step back from its decision to scrap the GMR group’s $511 deal for the Malé airport.
On Tuesday evening, the Maldives Government scrapped the deal for the development of the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport, giving the GMR group a period of seven days to leave the country. India reacted sharply stating that it was a ‘very negative signal’ to the international community and against foreign investment. It also warned that it would use ‘all necessary measures’ to ensure the safety and security of its interests.
In the first reaction after the decision, President Waheed forcefully defended the decision asserting that only commercial considerations were behind the decision. He said he was confident that the India-Maldives reaction will not be affected by the cancellation.
“Termination of the GMR contract, which was signed under dubious conditions, only provides assurances that Maldives is committed to a clean and safe business environment for foreign investments,” said Waheed.
According to the Indian diplomats, there are 30,000 Indian nationals in Maldives. There are around 290 Indian nationals, including women and children, who are in Maldives for GMR’s airport project.
http://newindianexpress.com/nation/article1359235.ece

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