Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath has expressed satisfaction with the government’s efforts to defend the interest of the Maldives.
He made this remark in a statement issued over the dispute concerning the delimitation of maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives.
A Special Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) consisting of nine judges on Friday issued a judgement delimiting the maritime boundary between Maldives and Mauritius in respect of the Chagos Archipelago.
On the most significant issue in dispute, namely the alleged entitlement of Mauritius to a continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, the Chamber held unanimously in favor of the Maldives.
In a Twitter post, AG Riffath stated that the government, under the leadership of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and its international legal team vigorously defended the interests of the Maldives, and that he was very pleased with the results.
Highlighting that the Maldives now has a maritime boundary, consistent with its views and expectations as to its rights under international law, AG Riffath added that the Special Chamber held unanimously in favor of Maldives, on the significant claim of Mauritius to the outer continental shelf.
Following ITLOS concluding the border dispute in favor of the Maldives, social media platforms have been taken by storm with praise and applause being showered on the incumbent administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
As such, the victory has triggered the appreciation and applause of many, including cabinet ministers, parliamentarians as well as other government officials who have been flooding social media with congratulatory messages.
Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage Yumna Maumoon called the win a “crucial” and “historical” one and offered sincere gratitude to AG Riffath and his team, Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid as well as his team and their “relentless” efforts to guarantee the Maldives’ claim.
FM Shahid stated that Maldives reached this achievement with full adherence to international law, and international principles, adding that the government’s faith in the international system, has resulted in bringing certainty to the outer limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone.
Congratulating President Solih for leading the Maldives on such an important issue, Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer stated that this marks an important turning point of political and economy stability.
On the “outstanding” and “historical” victory, Education Minister Aishath Ali stressed that the Maldives has successfully delimited its maritime boundary in the south. She praised the impressive work by AG Riffath and his team as well.
Aminath Shauna, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Technology claimed that careful political and legal strategy from the Maldivian government, led by President Solih has led to this victory.
In her Twitter post, Special Envoy for Climate Change Sabra Noordeen stated that the ITLOS judgement was a thorough, technical and fair conclusion to the dispute and strongly welcomed the Mauritius’ undertaking to declare the area surrounding the Chagos Archipelago as a marine protected area, with respect to the Maldives’ concerns about the fragile environment in the area.
Ahmed Shaheed, Professor of International Human Rights Law at the Essex Law School as well as OSCE Expert on Freedom of Religion or Belief and Former UN Special Rapporteur congratulated AG Riffath as well.
Praising President Solih on getting Mauritius to drop cost recovery claims via his letter to Mauritius, Shaheed urged to give credit where credit is due.
He went on to express hope that the government of Maldives will win at remaining claims regarding the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Minister of Economic Development, Fayyaz Ismail also took to Twitter congratulating President Solih and AG Riffath on the very equitable, fair and sensible decision by ITLOS.
