A Coastguard Harbor & Dockyard To Be Developed In The Uthuru Thila Falhu Naval Base By India

During a ceremony held today, an agreement has been signed between India and Maldives for the former country to assist in the development of a coastguard harbor and dockyard at the Uthuru Thila Falhu (UTF) naval base. The agreement was signed on behalf of the Government of India by the Minister of External Affairs, His Excellency Dr. S. Jaishankar whilst the Maldivian Government was represented by the Minister of Defense, Her Excellency Uza. Mariya Ahmed Didi.

Being carried out in an effort for India to aid in strengthening the Maldivian Coast Guard capability and facilitate regional HADR efforts, as per the terms of the Agreement, India will support the development of other infrastructure needed for the harbor, support development of communications resources and radar services in addition to the provision of necessary training. India will help Maldives in developing and maintaining the coastguard harbor and dockyard for a term of 15 years.

Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) assures that no Indian military personnel will be stationed at this base but that the development work will be handled by India.

The agreement signed today only pertains to the first phase of the project.
The Maldivian Coastguard has expressed the need for a designated harbor and dockyard to repair and dock vessels as transporting them overseas for repair work is time consuming and costly. 

Photos: Ministry of Defence