Ferry service: Delegation arrives to hold talks

KOCHI: A five member delegation led by Ahmed Naeem, deputy chief executive officer of Maldivian Port Limited (MPL) arrived at Kochi on Thursday to hold discussions on the proposed ferry service between Kochi and Maldives. The delegation held discussion with Cochin Port Trust chairman Paul Antony.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during the South Asian Association for Regional Corporation (SAARC) summit, had signed an agreement for ferry services between  Kochi and Kulhudhuffushi Port in Maldives. Apart from the Cochin Port and SCI officials, the delegation will hold discussions with steamer agents and the Chamber of Commerce representatives.The Maldivian delegation includes Maldivian Port Limited board member Ibrahim Zaki, MPL Harbour master Ahmed Rasheed, MPL civil engineering dept head Ahmed Hinan and Kulhudhuffushi Port managing director Ahmed Atheef.   It has been estimated that last year 25,000 Indians visited Maldives against 1.55 lakh Chinese.Since 2008 there has been a huge dip in tourists going to Maldives. 10 percentage of Maldives’ imports are from India.The 1 million tonne cargo import is through Tuticorin.