Maldives has assured that it will not use force: GMR

GMR has said that the Maldives Defence Minister and current Acting Transport Minister Colonel (Rtd) Ahmed Nazim has assured that the government will not use force to remove GMR from Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA).

Indian newspaper The Hindu reports GMR’s Chief Financial Officer Sidharath Kapur to have said, during a news conference held in New Delhi yesterday, that they hope that Maldives will honour its commitment to international law. He also said that the company was not interested in settling the matter through payment of compensation for cancelling the agreement.

“We expect and appeal to the Maldives Government to honour international law. Any termination is unlawful and against the due process of law. Any force will be seen impacting Indian interests. We have been assured by the country’s Defence Minister, who is also the acting Transport Minister, that force will not be used to remove us from Maldives airport,” Kapur said, reports the paper.

The Hindu also reports Kapur to have said that the company does not want compensation for cancelling the contract because they understand that if compensation is pursued, it could pose serious financial problems for the Maldives.

"We are not using compensation as a route. We have seen report of $700 million. Looking at the finances of the Maldives, it will have a very serious detrimental impact on the finances of the country. Our plea is that we want to settle the issues through a legal process,” Kapur said, says the paper.