Bangladesh-Maldives sand deal postponed

October 28, 2012

Bangladesh and Maldives have deferred the sand deal they were planning to ink in 2011.

What was to be signed in the deal?

Both the nations had planned to ship sand to Maldives which is facing serious threat of being deluged if the sea level rises by even 1 metre.
Bangladesh was ready to provide them sand from their rivers. The sand was to be used in raising the level of land in Maldives in defense against rising sea level.
In 2008, Maldives had announced that it will set up a sovereign wealth fund with tourism revenue to relocate people if sea level rises.
The island nation even had plans to buy land in India, Australia and Sri Lanka to tackle the problem.