New Delhi: It is 'come to Jesus moment' for Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu after he called India a ‘closest ally’ and urged for debt relief to bail out the Island nation from looming economic disaster. But typically of this mercurial politician, Muizzu blamed the previous pro-India Ibrahim Solih government for the present economic crisis in Maldives with the aim of influencing voters in the forthcoming Majlis election on April 21.
Just as Muizzu wanted to throw out non-existent Indian troops from Maldives even before he took over as President on November 17, 2023, the Maldives President has sought debt relief from India without even formally approaching the Modi government.
For someone who was boxing way above his weight category and seeking adversaries of India as key allies, Muizzu refused to allow Pakistan frigate PMS Saif to pay a courtesy call at Male seaport after so-called goodwill visit at Colombo port between January 30-February 1 earlier this year.
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Muizzu’s statement to the media seeking debt relief from India is quite intriguing to say the least as Indian EXIM bank repayments only start next year. Male owes some 1.3 billion USD to China and some USD 380 million to India but the biggest crisis will be repayment of USD one billion in 2026 to sovereign bonds holders. His statement indicates that realization has slowly dawned on Maldives that no country other than India will provide financial support to Male, not even cash rich China without any collateral. Sri Lanka similarly had the same come to Jesus moment when only India came to its support during the financial and political chaos of 2022.
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{{/usCountry}}Muizzu’s observations in the media also betray the fact that Indian high end tourists have stopped going to Maldives with guest house Chinese tourist arrivals now occupying the number 1 slot and Indians going down to number 6 slot. Unconfirmed reports indicate that high end resorts catering to Indian tourists have lost nearly USD 100 million in revenues in the first three months.
Given the financials of Maldives, it does not require a Harvard economics expert to predict that Male is heading for a loan default in 2026. And Muizzu’s shooting from the hip strategy against India has backfired as clearly his Ottoman and Han friends are not inclined to invest in the Indian Ocean littoral nation.