Indian High Commissioner should be someone I trust: President

President Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has said that given the current Maldivian High Commissioner to India Abdul Azeez Yusuf has requested to return back to the Maldives, he wants to appoint someone who is a seasoned diplomat and trustworthy to the position. “I believe that the Indian mission should be more strengthened than that of any other, and the person to lead the High Commission under my supervision should be someone I can trust and experienced in the field,” said the President addressing the employees of the Maldivian High Commission in India during his current official visit to India.

He noted that seeking a High Commissioner for India might be a bit difficult thus bound to take a few days. Abdul Azeez Yusuf had filled the position of Maldivian High Commissioner to India for the past three years and had also previously been the Maldivian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.

The President said that he does not consider being the Maldivian High Commissioner to India as a regular position and that whoever takes on the responsibility should be experienced and proficient in the field of diplomacy, stressing the Maldivian High Commission should be established more in India than any other country.

President Waheed noted that Azeez is one of the longest serving diplomats in the Maldivian government and that he provided valuable assistance following February 7 using his experience in the field to establish close relations between the new administration and the Indian government.

He also talked of improving the work done by the High Commission and noted the few number of employees working in the High Commission.

He said that though the numbers of employees are few, maintenance costs for missions were very high and that the matter needs to be sorted out in light of the current economic situation of the Maldives.

“We need to downsize and focus on the places that need to be further strengthened,” Waheed said.

The Indian government has given the Maldivian High Commission in India a plot of 39,000 square kilometers and the government is to allocate funds to build a High Commission on the plot in the national budget of 2013, revealed the President.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Abdul Samad Abdulla said that the most expense is allocated to employee accommodation, and that the new High Commission to be built would comprise of employee accommodation as well to minimize costs.
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