Indus Valley Times

NEW DELHI, NOV 24: The Indian delegation led by the Director General of NCGG, Shri Bharat Lal, accompanied by senior officials of the Govt of India, visited the Republic of Maldives from the 19th to 21st of November 2022. They reviewed the ongoing cooperation with the Civil Service Commission of Maldives based on the MoU signed during the State visit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2019. As per MoU, in 2019-2024, 1,000 civil servants of Maldives were to be trained. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, a total of 534 civil servants of Maldives were trained in India.

The National Centre for Good Governance (NCGG) was set up in 2014 by the Government of India as an apex–level autonomous institution under the auspices of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions. The centre is mandated to enhance capacity building and train civil servants and technocrats of India and other developing countries.

During the visit to Maldives, the delegation led by the Director General, NCGG, and the High Commissioner of India to Maldives and other senior officials visited the Ukulhas islands. The delegation interacted with the Ukulhas Council President, members, and Council officials to see the work undertaken with the assistance of the Indian Government. Ukulhas island is one of the inhabited islands of Alif Alif Atoll, a uniquely featured, environment-friendly island in the northern Maldives. The Director General also interacted with the Indian community working in sectors such as health, education, tourism, and hospitality at the Convention Centre, built with assistance from the Indian Government. The delegation learned that this convention centre, which hosts multiple facilities, has benefitted thousands of residents on the Island. Apart from working as a convention centre, it is also a tourist attraction and has boosted the tourism and income of inhabitants.

The delegation had a detailed meeting with the President and members of the Civil Service Commission of Maldives in Malé. The Director General, NCGG, was happy to note that as of now, 534 Maldivian civil servants were trained to enhance their capacity to promote good governance, transparency, and assured public service delivery, thus easing the lives of residents.

While interacting with the already trained civil servants of Maldives, DG stressed the role of civil servants in ensuring efficient, effective, and tech-driven service delivery.

In pursuance of the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy envisioned by Prime Minister Shri Modi, the delegation called the Foreign Minister of Maldives, Mr. Abdulla Shahid. In the meeting, they held detailed discussions to further expand capacity-building cooperation in emerging areas to promote democracy and good governance. The Foreign Minister praised the Indian Government for enhancing the capacity, knowledge, and skills of the Maldivian civil servants.

Subsequently, the Director General also called on the Maldives Minister for Economic Development, Mr. Fayyaz Ismail, and the Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan to discuss various aspects of good governance, transparency, and efficient public service delivery in Maldives. They praised the consistent efforts of NCGG and shared that this programme is very popular among officials and helps the government in improving democratic governance and the quality of life of the Maldivian people.

The DG also met the Health Minister and Foreign Secretary of Maldives. They expressed their appreciation and satisfaction with the progress made in India- the Maldives relationship and praised NCGG for playing a pivotal role.

The delegation also met the chairman of the Information Commission, where they attended a delegation-level meeting as Maldives is very keen to get their officials trained by NCGG.

The delegation was also hosted by the Anti-Corruption Commission of the Maldives and a detailed discussion took place on capacity building, ensuring transparency, and preventing any corruption by use of digital governance.

In various discussions, the Maldives government requested the NCGG to depute experts for a few months in different fields to handhold various department officials. They also proposed to hold conferences for 2 – 3 days in the Maldives on several subjects with the help of Indian subject matter experts.

The delegation also visited several ongoing infrastructure projects viz. housing, roads and bridges, new seafront development, etc. being carried out with assistance from the Indian government. These projects have a transformative impact on the lives and livelihood of Maldivian people.

As an overall outcome, both the nations of the Indian Ocean are determined to work together to improve the lives of people. They promised to strengthen the ongoing cooperation and intensify efforts in ensuring transparency, capacity building of civil servants, and re-orientation of officials to further enhance governance, transparency, and ease of living in the island nation.