Various Indian media have reported that President Abdullah Yameen Abdul Qayyoom has given assurance that no foreign nation will be allowed to create a military base in the nation.
Times of India reported that President Yameen had penned a letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, explicitly stating the above.
The letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi was delivered by visiting Maldivian foreign secretary Ali Naseer Mohamed to foreign minister Sushma Swaraj this week.
Maldivian officials said while the land law was "unprecedented", the investment would have to cross $1 billion, and 70% of the land would have to be reclaimed land, rather than existing real estate and that there is no question of allowing foreign countries to set up military bases, assuring that the idea was to spur rapid economic development in the archipelago.
The recent amendment to the Constitution had sparked concern from India over potential Chinese expansion in the region.
President Yameen had stated on the day the amendment was ratified, that the Indian Ocean will remain as a demilitarized zone and that the amendment was only to usher in large scale investments.
No military bases can be built in Maldives: President Yameen
