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Maldives Foreign Relations
Maldives has traditionally sought to maintain a status
independent of the great powers while simultaneously
preserving
cordial relations with all members of the world community.
The
purposes of this stance are to receive additional aid and
to keep
the Indian Ocean area at peace. An instance of Maldives'
nonalignment was its refusal of a Soviet offer of US$1
million in
October 1977 as rental for the former British air base on
Gan,
which Britain evacuated in 1976. Historically, Maldives
has had
close relations with Britain, its former colonial power,
and has
been a full member of the British Commonwealth since 1985.
Maldives participates in a variety of international
organizations. It joined the UN in 1965 and the World Bank
and
the IMF in 1978. In connection with its concern over the
security
of the Indian Ocean area, Maldives became a founder of the
South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation
(SAARC--see Glossary)
in 1985--it has been a member of the Colombo Plan designed
to
promote economic and social development in Asia and the
Pacific
since 1963. In 1990 the fifth SAARC annual conference was
held in
Male. Maldives is also a member of the Asian Development
Bank.
Although a Muslim nation, Maldives has remained apart
from
most of the problems associated with the Islamist (also
seen as
fundamentalist) movement in the Middle East. Maldives
falls
within India's sphere of influence and in 1976 signed an
agreement demarcating the maritime boundary between the
two
countries. It has also received military assistance from
India,
such as the sending of 1,600 military personnel in 1988 at
President Gayoom's request to repel a group of invading
mercenaries.
Data as of August 1994
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