Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih on Wednesday defended the MNDF UTF Harbor development agreement with India and said he would never sign an agreement compromising the sovereignty of the country. On 21 February, the Maldives and India had signed an agreement to develop, support, and maintain the UTF harbor of the Maldives National Defense Forces. However, details of the agreement have not been made public. 

At a press conference on Tuesday, Solih said that while the agreement itself had not been made public, the government had disclosed relevant details. He also added that parliament was also being kept updated on the latest information and developments with the agreement.

Ever since the signing of the agreement, opposition parties in the country have been cornering the government, accusing it of compromising with the country’s sovereignty. 

The agreement, he said, is not a threat to the country’s sovereignty. The project is being developed under the Defense Action Plan signed with the Indian government in 2016 during the previous administration of Abdullah Yameen. 

The development of the UTF Harbor will take place over three years and will be spread across two phases. The agreement period signed for the project is 15 years.