Israel is ready to work with India to develop the Lakshadweep islands, where it is ready to set up a desalination project, its embassy announced on Monday.
The embassy’s announcement comes after Mariyam Shiuna, the now-suspended Maldivian Deputy Minister for Youth Empowerment, Information and the Arts, called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a “puppet of Israel” in a post that was later deleted.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu also strongly condemned Israel’s aggression against Gaza and the Palestinian people and reaffirmed his administration’s unwavering support for Palestine.
Cooperation on water management and desalination has been a priority area for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu. In July 2021, Israel appointed its first water attache to India, Lior Asaf.
“Following the dialogue between the Government of Israel and the Government of India after Prime Minister Modi’s visit in 2017 (to Israel)… Prime Minister Modi specifically requested to build another pillar of activity (between India and Israel) in the field of water management, Asaf told ThePrint in July 2023.
The proposed desalination project in Lakshadweep is yet to take off.
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Israel praises the ‘beauty’ of Lakshadweep
The embassy also highlighted the beauty of the Union territory in its post on Monday. “For those who are yet to witness the pristine and majestic underwater beauty of #lakshadweepislands, here are some pictures showing the enchanting charm of this island,” it said, sharing several photos of the island.
Modi visited the Union Territory last week and promoted island tourism in a post on social media platform X. Although there was no mention of the Maldives in his post, several Maldivian ministers reacted strongly, interpreting Modi’s words as a challenge to their tourism industry.
The Maldivian government immediately distanced itself from ministers Abdulla Mahzoom Majid, Mariyam Shiuna and Malsha Shareef and suspended the trio.
Indians responded by reportedly canceling plans to visit the island nation, with travel agency EaseMyTrip even suspending bookings – a decision that is likely to hit the Maldives in the next few weeks.
Boycott of Maldives, trends in India
The ‘Maldives Boycott’ is widely spread in India following derogatory comments made by Maldivian officials against Prime Minister Modi.
Several Indian celebrities, including Bollywood actors, social media influencers, sports personalities, have called for a boycott of the Maldives and its tourist spots following the row.
Maldives is dependent on tourists from India
By December 2023, a large proportion of visitors to the Maldives were Indian tourists.
According to the Maldives Ministry of Tourism, a total of 1,757,939 tourists visited the island nation by December 13, up 12.6 percent from the 1.5 million arrivals recorded in 2022.
The largest number of tourists visiting Maldives was from India (2,09,198), followed by Russia (2,09,146) and China (1,87,118). In the quarter October to December 2021
