Maldives takes security help

Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and China will provide physical, technical and financial support to the Maldives to ensure foolproof security during the 17th Saarc Summit to be held in Addu Atoll on November 10-11.
Bangladesh has donated trucks while India and Pakistan will contribute police force and security equipment respectively to the island nation, according to sources at Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF).
Members of Sri Lankan Special Task Force will join the security team for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) Summit.
China, an observer nation at Saarc, will provide closed-circuit television (CCTV) equipment for surveillance.
Official sources said as the hosts do not have a strong defence force, most of the Saarc member states are providing support to them.
Besides, the heads of states and governments of the eight-nation regional organisation will have their own security staff with them.
The Maldives authorities have started hectic security preparations to ensure foolproof security for the Saarc leaders, several of whom are high-profile international figures, said Minivan news of the Maldives quoting MNDF spokesperson Abdul Raheem.
“We have to look at this as a high-risk event. Some heads of states are high-risk personalities, but we are treating each of them as a high-risk individual to ensure their security,” mentioned Raheem.
Previously the Maldives hosted the summit in its capital Male, but this time Addu Atoll has been picked as the venue.
The event will though be spread across several islands because the Addu Island alone can't accommodate all the participants, said sources.
Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan are the other members of the South Asian regional cooperation body.