In an effort to mend the recently strained relationship with New Delhi, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu paid a state visit to India from October 6-9.
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| Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Mohamed Muizzu in New Delhi, October 7. (Source: x.com/MMuizzu) |
This is President Mohamed Muizzu’s first bilateral visit to the important neighbour since assuming office in November last year. Unlike his predecessors, Muizzu did not visit India after assuming office, instead visiting China and Türkiye earlier this year. In June, President Muizzu visited New Delhi, but only to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The cracks
Maldives and India have a close neighborly relationship and close cooperation, especially in security and defense. For many years, Maldives has always considered India as its main security partner, while New Delhi has always identified Male as having a special position in its Neighborhood First foreign policy.
But the warm relationship has been strained since Mr Muizzu, during his 2023 election campaign, pledged to end the presence of Indian troops. The rift between Male and New Delhi has deepened since Mr Muizzu became president, and he has begun to implement what he promised voters about his “India Out” policy and demonstrated a “pivot” closer to China.
In fact, during an “unscheduled” visit to Beijing in January, Mr. Muizzu made a statement that “the Maldives will not be bullied” and “is not another country’s backyard,” and outlined plans to wean the island nation off its dependence on India for medical facilities, medicines, and imports of essential goods…
Tensions between the two countries have again dominated the media after three Maldives Deputy Ministers of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts criticized Prime Minister Modi’s visit to the Lakshadweep atoll in India to promote domestic tourism. The move has led to a boycott of Maldives tourism among the Indian community, causing the number of Indian tourists to the “earthly paradise” to fall from the first place in 2023 to the sixth place in the Maldives Tourism Market Ranking.
Relations between the two countries gradually improved when President Muizzu visited New Delhi to attend the inauguration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June and Foreign Minister S Jaishankar visited the Maldives two months later. Before that, Mr Muizzu had suspended and ordered an investigation into three officials who had made critical comments about Mr Modi.
Ahead of his visit to New Delhi, President Muizzu told reporters that Maldives does not act to undermine India's security or harm regional stability and still considers New Delhi its most important partner and cooperation with India is a "top priority".
"Can't leave each other"
In New Delhi, President Muizzu met his counterpart Droupadi Murmu, held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, issued a joint statement, and witnessed the signing of several cooperation agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs). He then traveled to Mumbai and Bengaluru, where he attended business forums and met with the Maldivian community.
According to Times of India, during the talks with the guest from the beautiful island nation, the host country's Prime Minister Modi emphasized the importance of Maldives in India's Neighborhood First policy and Security and Growth for All in the Region (SAGAR) vision, and reaffirmed his commitment to supporting Maldives' development based on the priorities of this island nation.
For his part, the President of Maldives reaffirmed that cooperation with India remains a “top priority”. Noting that India has always stood by Maldives in times of need, Mr. Muizzu thanked Prime Minister Modi, the government and people of India for their generous support and cooperation to Maldives over the years.
President Muizzu hailed New Delhi’s decision to increase support to Maldives in the form of a bilateral currency swap agreement worth $400 million and Rs30 billion, saying the “one-time package” move would help address some of the financial challenges the country faces. Maldives’ public debt is currently around $8 billion, of which $1.4 billion is owed to India and China.
The two leaders pledged to strengthen cooperation in the field of maritime security. India will continue to provide expertise and participate in joint efforts to help Maldives address traditional and non-traditional maritime threats. The two sides agreed to develop a modern commercial port at Thilafushi Island to reduce congestion in the Male port and to fully exploit the capacity of the Hanimaadhoo and Gan airports being developed with Indian support.
Furthermore, the two sides agreed to initiate discussions on a bilateral free trade agreement, and to conduct trade settlements in each country’s local currency to strengthen trade linkages and reduce excessive dependence on foreign currencies. In addition, the leaders of the two countries agreed to promote investment, enhance cooperation in tourism, agriculture, fisheries, oceanography, green economy, research and development, etc. President Muizzu also invited more Indian tourists to visit the “paradise on earth” in the Indian Ocean.
Observers believe that the implicit messages and results achieved during President Muizzu’s visit this time show the “return” of Male after the rift with New Delhi and that both sides “cannot separate from each other”. Warming up relations with an important neighbor can help Maldives escape the current danger of default and gradually bring the “intertwined like tree roots” relationship back on track, more balanced in relations with the powers that are increasing their presence and influence in the region.
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-thong-maldives-tham-an-do-no-luc-han-gan-va-can-bang-289547.html
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