In the Maldives, a welcome reset
The island-nation seems to be realising the need to balance between China and India. Regaining its trust is imperative for India, too
In the wake of the maximalist position taken by Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu after his election last year, both Male and New Delhi have taken steps to restore relations to an even keel. Muizzu, who came to power on the back of an ‘India Out’ campaign, demanded the withdrawal of Indian personnel deputed to the Maldives to operate three aircraft used mainly for humanitarian missions. However, since he attended the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, several signs have pointed to a thaw in relations between the two countries. This is underlined by a visit to India in May by Maldivian foreign minister Moosa Zameer, and external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s visit last week to the Maldives. At his meeting with Jaishankar, Muizzu spoke of his administration’s commitment to strengthening close connections with India, which he described as one of the island nation’s closest allies and invaluable partners. Jaishankar too said the Maldives is at the “heart” of India’s Neighborhood First policy and cooperation between the two countries has moved beyond the traditional role and aspires to be a modern partnership.
When the Maldives recently faced economic problems, it was India that agreed to the rollover of treasury bills worth $50 million. New Delhi has also ensured the uninterrupted supply of critical items such as food despite the downturn in bilateral ties and Male’s perceived tilt towards Beijing since last year, including measures to reduce its dependency on New Delhi. India’s assistance, comprising a mix of grants, loans and budgetary support, is based completely on the developmental and infrastructure needs of the Maldives and has touched the lives of the people, with even Muizzu acknowledging that it leads to significant economic benefits and boosts the local economy.
All of this points to a realisation in the Maldives that there will always be a need to balance between India and China, and any policy to simply shut out New Delhi will not work in the long-run. For India, regaining trust will be slow but crucial, given the current situation across the neighbourhood. A new beginning has been made with India assuring it will continue to partner the Indian Ocean archipelago on development, and a perceived pro-China regime being appreciative of New Delhi’s support. India too will do well to learn from its experiences in recent years by reaching out to all segments of the Maldivian political establishment.
In the wake of the maximalist position taken by Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu after his election last year, both Male and New Delhi have taken steps to restore relations to an even keel. Muizzu, who came to power on the back of an ‘India Out’ campaign, demanded the withdrawal of Indian personnel deputed to the Maldives to operate three aircraft used mainly for humanitarian missions. However, since he attended the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, several signs have pointed to a thaw in relations between the two countries. This is underlined by a visit to India in May by Maldivian foreign minister Moosa Zameer, and external affairs minister S Jaishankar’s visit last week to the Maldives. At his meeting with Jaishankar, Muizzu spoke of his administration’s commitment to strengthening close connections with India, which he described as one of the island nation’s closest allies and invaluable partners. Jaishankar too said the Maldives is at the “heart” of India’s Neighborhood First policy and cooperation between the two countries has moved beyond the traditional role and aspires to be a modern partnership.
When the Maldives recently faced economic problems, it was India that agreed to the rollover of treasury bills worth $50 million. New Delhi has also ensured the uninterrupted supply of critical items such as food despite the downturn in bilateral ties and Male’s perceived tilt towards Beijing since last year, including measures to reduce its dependency on New Delhi. India’s assistance, comprising a mix of grants, loans and budgetary support, is based completely on the developmental and infrastructure needs of the Maldives and has touched the lives of the people, with even Muizzu acknowledging that it leads to significant economic benefits and boosts the local economy.
All of this points to a realisation in the Maldives that there will always be a need to balance between India and China, and any policy to simply shut out New Delhi will not work in the long-run. For India, regaining trust will be slow but crucial, given the current situation across the neighbourhood. A new beginning has been made with India assuring it will continue to partner the Indian Ocean archipelago on development, and a perceived pro-China regime being appreciative of New Delhi’s support. India too will do well to learn from its experiences in recent years by reaching out to all segments of the Maldivian political establishment.