On July 22, 2020, India and Maldives inked an agreement to set up Geydoshu Mas Plant (Neighbourhood Fish Processing Plants) at two islands in the Addu city of Maldives namely Maradhoo and Hulhudhoo. The Contract signing ceremony was held virtually in Addu City, which was attended by Maldives’ Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed, High Commissioner of India to the Maldives Sunjay Sudhir, along with other members of Maldives’ Ministry of Foreign affairs.
- This agreement was inked on the lines of Memorandum of Association (MoU) signed by both nations in 2019 stating setting up of 3 Geydoshu Mas Plants in Maradhoo, Hithahoo and Hulhudhoo at a cost of around USD 1.5 million which was signed by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
- This agreement is also first in the series of “Indian Grant Assistance for Implementation of High Impact Community Development Projects through local bodies” in Maldives at a total cost of $5.5 million.
Key Points:
-This agreement enables development of key social and economic infrastructure, and will boost the economy and attract private investments for Addu City.
-This will also overcome the various challenges they face in the fisheries sector of Maldives which is a largest source of employment in local communities.
About Maldives:
Capital– Male
Currency– Maldivian rufiyaa
Recent Related News:
As a part of the Centre government’s plan to repatriate stranded Indians abroad due to COVID-19 outbreak, Indian Navy launched Operation “Samudra Setu” (Sea Bridge) to bring back 1000 Indians from Maldives. In this regard, Indian Navy sent two India Naval Ships (INS) viz. Jalashwa and Magar to Maldives capital Male to commence the first phase of the evacuation. The operation was completed on July 8, 2020. Read Indian Navy Completes “Operation Samudra Setu” by repatriating 3992 Indian from 3 countries
