Maldives–Sri Lanka relations

The earliest settlers in the Maldives were probably from Southern India. Indo-European speakers followed them from Sri Lanka in the fourth and fifth centuries BC. In the 12th century AD, sailors from East Africa and Arab countries came to the islands. Today, the Maldivian ethnic identity is a blend of these cultures, reinforced by religion and language. According to Maldivian legend, a Sinhalese prince named Koimala was stranded with his bride, daughter of the King of Sri Lanka, in a Maldivian lagoon and stayed on to rule as the first sultan. The Maldivians speak Dhivehi, closely related to the Sinhala language of Sri Lanka.{{cite web

|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5476.htm

|title=Background Note: Maldives

|publisher=U.S. State Department

|access-date=2009-07-31}} The Maldives became a British Protectorate in the 19th century and the Maldivian monarchs were granted a good measure of self-governance. The Maldives gained total independence in 1965, and soon after established formal diplomatic relations with Sri Lanka.{{cite web |title=Maldives |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/maldives/ |access-date=7 May 2024 |website=Central Intelligence Agency |series=The World Factbook}}

Both the Maldives and Sri Lanka were part of the British Empire. The Sultan of the Maldives would pay tribute to their British suzerains in an annual ceremony every November whereby an envoy would present tribute and gifts to the Governor of Ceylon at the Queen's House in Colombo. This was notable as the only diplomatic function held in Colombo prior to independence.

Both the Maldives and Sri Lanka are republics in the Commonwealth of Nations.

In July 1976 the governments of the Maldives, Sri Lanka and India reached an agreement fixing the trijunction point between the three countries in the sea beyond the Gulf of Mannar.{{cite web

|url = http://huwu.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/PDFFILES/TREATIES/LKA-IND-MDV1976TP.PDF

|title = Agreement between Sri Lanka, India and Maldives concerning the Determination of the Trijunction Point between the three Countries in the Gulf of Mannar 23, 24 and 31 July 1976

|publisher = United Nations

|access-date = 2009-07-31

}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

In April 2006 officials including the Ministers of Education from the two countries participated in a 5-day workshop sponsored by UNESCO to establish plans for measuring progress towards EFA (Education for All) goals.{{cite web |date=24–28 April 2006 |title=Sri Lanka and Maldives EFA Mid-Decade Assessment Planning Workshop |url=http://www.unescobkk.org/education/efa/mda/sri-lanka-and-maldives-efa-mda-workshop/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110614125140/https://www.unescobkk.org/education/efa/mda/sri-lanka-and-maldives-efa-mda-workshop/ |archive-date=14 June 2011 |access-date=2009-07-31 |website=UNESCO Bangkok |publisher=}}

In February 2007, the then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa made a three-day official visit to the Maldives, expected to further consolidate the existing bilateral links between the two countries, and to strengthen cooperation in trade, tourism, education, and fisheries.{{Cite news |date=10 February 2007 |title=Sri Lankan president to visit Maldives |url=http://en.people.cn/200702/10/eng20070210_349122.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220501104934/http://en.people.cn/200702/10/eng20070210_349122.html |archive-date=1 May 2022 |access-date=31 July 2009 |work=People's Daily}}

At a January 2009 meeting of energy ministers and senior officials of SAARC countries in Colombo, the two countries discussed closer collaboration in joint energy policies.{{Cite news |last=Wijayatunga |first=Priyantha D. C. |date=27 January 2009 |title=Energy status and future outlook |url=https://www.dailynews.lk/2009/01/27/fea03.asp |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605000035/https://www.dailynews.lk/2009/01/27/fea03.asp |archive-date=5 June 2011 |work=Daily News}}

In June 2009, the then President of the Maldives Mohamed Nasheed made a two-day official visit to Sri Lanka where he met with the then Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed issues of bilateral and regional interest. Mr. Nasheed congratulated Mr. Rajapaksa on eliminating LTTE terrorism.{{Cite news |last=Reddy |first=B. Muralidhar |date=20 June 2009 |title=Maldives, Sri Lanka discuss bilateral interests |url=http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/20/stories/2009062056551300.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090621070521/http://www.hindu.com/2009/06/20/stories/2009062056551300.htm |archive-date=21 June 2009 |access-date=2009-07-31 |work=The Hindu}}

On 13 February 2014, Zahiya Zareer was appointed by President Abdulla Yameen as High Commissioner to Sri Lanka.{{Cite web |date=13 February 2014 |title=President nominates Zahiya Zareer for High Commissioner to Sri Lanka |url=https://www.presidencymaldives.gov.mv/Press/Article/13994 |access-date=7 May 2024 |website=The President's Office}}

The Maldives Defence Forces are trained by the Sri Lankan military. Specially Special Forces of the MNDF were trained at the Sri Lanka Army Commando Regiment regiment school and Sri Lanka Army Special Forces Regiment training academy in Maduru Oya, Sri Lanka. Maldivian Coast Guard fleet consists of vessels made by Colombo Dockyard.

Until the early 1970s, 65% of the Maldives imports from South Asia came from Sri Lanka, compared to 32% from India.{{cite web |last=Kumaaran |first=Satheesan |date=February 27, 2008 |title=Sri Lanka and Maldives fall victims to regional and international hegemonic powers |url=http://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=133&id=5433 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928001330/https://www.tamilcanadian.com/page.php?cat=133&id=5433 |archive-date=28 September 2011 |access-date=2009-07-31 |website=Tamil Canadian |publisher=}}

The economy of the Maldives is heavily dependent on tourism, with tour operators often based in Sri Lanka and packages including both countries.{{cite web |last=Fisher |first=Bryan |date=4 Apr 2009 |title=Packaged pleasures in Sri Lanka and the Maldives |url=http://www.travelmag.co.uk/article_1506.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090630122020/http://www.travelmag.co.uk/article_1506.shtml |archive-date=2009-06-30 |access-date=2009-07-31 |website=Travelmag}}

In 2006 Sri Lanka Telecom and the Maldives state-run telephone company Dhivehi Raajjeyge Gulhun commissioned a US$20 million joint venture to lay an undersea fibre-optic cable connecting Male to Colombo, Sri Lanka, with Japan’s NEC Corp as the main supplier.{{cite web |date=14 December 2006 |title=Sri Lanka-Maldives cable to bring down prices |url=http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=15880 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140105050513/http://www.telegeography.com/products/commsupdate/articles/2006/12/14/sri-lanka-maldives-cable-to-bring-down-prices/ |archive-date=5 January 2014 |access-date=2009-07-31 |website=TeleGeography}}

In 2005, the International Finance Corporation, part of the World Bank, launched the US$10 million Sri Lanka-Maldives Enterprise Development Program to assist small and medium enterprises in the two countries.{{cite web |title=Sri Lanka and the Maldives |url=http://www.sedf.org/in_country.php?sub_id=5 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117141347/http://www.sedf.org/in_country.php?sub_id=5 |archive-date=2016-01-17 |access-date=2009-07-31 |website=International Finance Corporation}} The Maldives has inadvertently fallen into a debt entanglement and now faces a situation reminiscent of neighboring Sri Lanka. Like Sri Lanka, the Maldives has incurred billions of dollars in debt to China while seeking to rebuild its infrastructure following years of civil conflict.{{Cite news |last=Ethirajan |first=Anbarasan |date=2020-09-17 |title=China debt dogs Maldives' 'bridge to prosperity' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52743072 |access-date=2023-09-23 |work=BBC |language=en-GB}}

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami which occurred on December 26 that year, caused great damage in both Maldives and Sri Lanka, as well as other Indian Ocean nations. In response, with assistance from the United States, the US$16.6 million Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning System (IOTWS) was established in 2005 to set up monitoring systems and share information between the nations at risk.{{cite web |url=http://apps.develebridge.net/usiotws/pageaahome.html |title=US IOTWS Program Summary |publisher=USAID |access-date=2009-07-31 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090911075428/http://apps.develebridge.net/usiotws/pageaahome.html |archive-date=2009-09-11 |url-status=dead }}

Global warming is a severe threat to the Maldives, with most of the islands less than {{convert|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level. The then President, Mohamed Nasheed had said he planned to set aside some of the US$1 billion a year it receives from tourism to buy a new homeland. He had approached the government of Sri Lanka, among others, and was said to have received a favourable reception.{{Cite news |last=Chakrabarti |first=Sumon K. |last2=Ahmed |first2=Saeed |date=11 November 2008 |title=Sinking island's nationals seek new home |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/11/11/maldives.president/index.html |access-date=7 May 2024 |work=CNN}}

• Foreign relations of the Maldives
• Foreign relations of Sri Lanka
• Maldivians in Sri Lanka

{{reflist}}

{{Foreign relations of Sri Lanka}}

{{Foreign relations of the Maldives}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maldives-Sri Lanka relations}}

Sri Lanka

Category:Bilateral relations of Sri Lanka

Category:Maldives and the Commonwealth of Nations

Category:Sri Lanka and the Commonwealth of Nations