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PM Modi meets Maldives President Muizzu in reset of ties after ‘India Out’ row
India is expected to extend a line of credit worth $565 million to the Maldives; talks on a Free Trade Agreement are expected to be held too
Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally held talks with President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives on Friday evening. Modi's two-day trip to the island nation, which comes immediately after his landmark visit to the UK, holds strategic significance as Muizzu had come to power in 2023 on an ‘India Out’ poll campaign.
Modi landed in Male early Friday, and is the first foreign leader to visit President Muizzu.
India is expected to extend a line of credit worth $565 million to the Maldives, and talks on a Free Trade Agreement are expected to formally begin.
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Modi will also remotely inaugurate the expansion of an international airport on the island of Hanimadhoo, which India is helping to finance.
On Saturday, he will attend celebrations of Maldives' 60th anniversary of independence from Britain.
How India-Maldives relations came back on track
Relations between the two countries soured soon after Muizzu took office with a pledge to end the Maldives' ‘India first’ policy, and upgraded ties with China.
New Delhi, however, regained its influence as it helped to prevent the $7.5-billion Maldives economy from defaulting on its debt, a Reuters report analysed.
Muizzu visited India last October, and has visited China too — the two countries are Male's largest lenders — to secure financial support.
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Before Modi left for his trip, Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri said steady diplomacy had helped to rebuild India-Maldives ties: “There will always be events that will impact or try to intrude on the relationship. But I think this is testimony to the kind of attention that has been paid to the relationship, and including attention at the highest levels.”
Former Maldives foreign minister Abdulla Shahid told Reuters that Modi's visit indicated Muizzu had "decided to step back and correct the narrative".
The Maldives is a “very important partner” in India’s Neighborhood First policy MAHASAGAR (Mutual and Holistic Advancement for Security and Growth Across Regions) vision, the Indian foreign secretary said in his briefing earlier in the week.
