Maldives Immigration has voiced concerns over the plans to launch ferry services between Maldives and Cochin, India.
Immigration expressed their concern to the Committee on National Security & Foreign Relations on Tuesday.
According to the Maldives Immigration, the main problem is a lack of official records on the people entering the country via sea. Though a system was established in 2013, no module has been formed to collect such information in the past seven years. Hence, no official records of sea-route travelers exist, says Maldives Immigration.
Additionally, Maldives Immigration disclosed the matter was discussed with the parliament first and then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs afterward.
“The system cannot do anything beyond sign-off and sign-on. We have been promised a solution but nothing has been implemented yet. Through discussions with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we were told that they will inform the US State Department and the creators of the system of our complaints.”Immigration official
Maldives Immigration noted that once the ferry is launched, the volume of vessels entering the country will increase and issues may arise if the information cannot be recorded in the current system.
