Performance not an issue, Maldives tells Malaysia

New Delhi, Dec. 21:

The Malaysian Government has secured a letter in some form from the Maldivian Government that indicates that performance was not the grounds for termination of the Male international airport contract, said External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday.

Malaysia Airports had tied up with Bangalore-based GMR Infrastructure to form a consortium, which won the contract for modernising the Male airport in 2010. However, a change of Government in the island nation saw the consortium contract being cancelled.

“I think this (the letter) was necessary for Malaysia for its future prospects as well. That is not something that we had called for, so we have not received any such letter,” the Minister added.

Khurshid was speaking to the media at the conclusion of the India-Asean Summit during which there was also a bilateral meeting between leaders of India and Malaysia.

“The matter (GMR investment in Male airports) was mentioned. I will not say that the matter was discussed in great detail. We wanted an update on their impression as their Foreign Minister visited Maldives for a day,” he said.

Sistema issue

Asked whether the Sistema issue would figure in talks between visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Khurshid expressed the hope that the concerns would get addressed. “When Prime Minister Singh meets with President Putin, if this topic comes up, we will have some adequate reply ready which will bring some comfort, I believe,” he said.

Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL) is among the nine telecom companies whose mobile licenses were cancelled by the Supreme Court in February in the 2G case. The Supreme Court had cancelled 21 out of 22 licences of SSTL along with 101 other licences. These permits are valid till January 18, 2013.

The company had recently warned India that it would seek “billions of dollars” in damages if the licence cancellation issue was not resolved in time. The company filed a curative petition in the Supreme Court on May 4, which is still pending a hearing. The company offers CDMA mobile services under the MTS brand in India.

Khurshid said India was keen to “strengthen and enhance” the already good relations with the Russian Federation.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-economy/performance-not-an-issue-maldives-tells-malaysia/article4226905.ece