Indian Government happy with Dr. Waheed

S.M. Krishna, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, has said today that his government was happy and satisfied with the decisions of the Maldivian Government about the next Presidential elections in the Maldives.

Indian External Minister’s statements were communicated to Maldivian President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, during a courtesy call today, in New Delhi. President Waheed is in India in his first official visit abroad after assuming office on the 7th of February this year.

Mr. Krishna said that his government was happy with how things are progressing in the Maldives, and expressed the Indian government’s support for President Waheed’s policies in trying to settle political disputes in the Maldives.

Minister Krishna also stated that the Indian government would always acknowledge that internal problems of the Maldives should be left to the Maldivians to be resolved. He also said that the Parliamentary approval of Dr. Waheed’s Cabinet and his Deputy President gave strong reason for the Indian government to work with the current leadership of the Maldives.

Mr. Krishna also assured that his government would always help Maldivian development, and that India would also assist in the efforts to rebuild the Maldivian economy.

The meeting between the two was conducted in the New Delhi hotel in which President Waheed is staying, and the President expressed gratitude for Indian assistance over the years in the Maldivian efforts for development and progress. He also informed Minister Krishna about the economic and political condition of the Maldives.

The President also thanked Indian government for sending an expert to help the Inquiry Commission in the Maldives charged with the task of investigating the issue of leadership-change on the 7th of February. On 7th February, former President Mohamed Nasheed resigned, and Waheed, his Deputy, stepped on as new President. Nasheed and his party have since claimed that he was toppled in a coup d’état.