House panel quizzes govt. on foreign policy 

House panel quizzes govt. on foreign policy 

Context

“India has always been there for the Maldives and will continue our commitment to be the ‘first’ friend,” said the MEA, which also acknowledged that the 2015 visit to the Maldives by Prime Minister Narendra Modi “was cancelled at the last minute due to political developments in the Maldives.”

Rift in the relations

India’s ties with the Maldives has turned cold since the first week of December when Male signed a Free Trade Agreement with China after rushing it through Parliament

Maldives’ reaction

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom during the weekend tried to address India’s concerns and said India is Male’s “closest friend and ally” and both sides are also working on an FTA

Other issues raised

• India-Nepal ties: A Rajya Sabha member also raised India-Nepal ties following the return of K.P. Sharma Oli as the newly elected leader of Nepal because Mr. Oli is known to be a critic of India’s policies
• Visa issue: The Committee also raised the issue of visas for Pakistani civil society activists who wish to travel to India. “Pakistan’s civil society and intellectuals have been staunchly democratic and great supporters of normalisation of India-Pakistan ties and therefore there is no ground to delay visas for them,” an MP said
• The meeting also discussed the recent developments over the Doklam standoff with China and the ongoing negotiations with Pakistan over Kulbhushan Jadhav

MEA’s response

The Ministry of External Affairs in its statement kept before the committee said India wishes to engage Pakistan on established principles but “there will be no compromise on matters pertaining to India’s national security and incidents of cross-border terrorism and infiltration will be dealt with firmly.”