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Maldivian President Muizzu to reset ties with India in first bilateral visit
Muizzu’s recent comments on India have marked a significant shift from the “India Out” campaign that propelled him into the presidency last year
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu is expected to raise the issue of a bailout to help his country tide over a balance of payments crisis during his state visit to India beginning Sunday, which is being seen as an effort to reset the bilateral relationship.
This is Muizzu’s first bilateral visit to India, though he came to New Delhi in June to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony with leaders of six other regional countries. The trip comes after a period of acrimony in bilateral ties, especially after Muizzu demanded India withdraw more than 80 military personnel deployed in the Maldives to operate three aircraft and took several steps to move his country closer to China.
Muizzu, whose delegation includes nearly a dozen ministers and senior officials, was received at the airport by minister of state for external affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh. The two countries are expected to finalise several agreements to boost cooperation in a range of areas when Muizzu meets Modi for talks on Monday.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar met Muizzu soon after his arrival. In a post on X, Jaishankar appreciated Muizzu’s commitment to enhance the India-Maldives relationship and said: “Confident that his talks with PM @narendramodi tomorrow will give a new impetus to our friendly ties.”
Ahead of his arrival in New Delhi, Muizzu said he is hopeful India will come to the aid of the Maldives in the face of an economic crisis. “India is fully cognisant of our fiscal situation, and as one of our biggest development partners, will always be ready to ease our burden, find better alternatives and solutions to the challenges we face,” he told BBC.
Read more: Why Maldives President Muizzu is headed to Bengaluru next week
The Maldives faces the possibility of defaulting on debt as its foreign exchange reserves have fallen to $440 million, enough for one-and-a-half months of imports.
India helped the Maldives avoid the risk of defaulting on Islamic bond payments in September by extending the State Bank of India’s (SBI) subscription to government treasury bills worth $50 million. In May this year, SBI subscribed treasury bills worth $50 million under the same mechanism, again at the request of the Maldives. India has also offered financial support worth $1.4 billion for infrastructure and development projects.
Muizzu’s recent comments on India have marked a significant shift from the “India Out” campaign that propelled him into the presidency last year. While visiting New York to attend the UN General Assembly, he said at an interaction in Princeton University that the Maldives only had a problem with the presence of foreign military personnel on its soil and wasn’t against any country. He also said he had taken action against ministers for making remarks on social media that were perceived as insulting to Modi.
Muizzu also told BBC that he is confident that “any differences [between the Maldives and India] can be addressed through open dialogue and mutual understanding”. He added he believes the two sides now “have a better understanding of each others’ priorities and concerns”.
Besides holding talks with Modi on bilateral, regional and international issues, Muizzu will meet President Droupadi Murmu. He will travel to Mumbai and Bengaluru to attend business events. Muizzu will also interact with a sizeable Maldivian diaspora in Bengaluru.
