After ‘India Out’ campaign, Maldives’ Muizzu to meet Modi in Delhi: What’s on the agenda?

In a big boost to ties with India, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu is on his first bilateral trip to the country. He will be meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi today (October 7).

Muizzu reached New Delhi on Sunday for a five-day visit – from October 6 to 10. He was received at the airport by Minister of State (External Affairs) Kirti Vardhan Singh.

The visit assumes significance, as ties between the two countries took a hit as Muizzu came to power last November on an “India Out” campaign.

Whom will Muizzu meet in India?

Muizzu was last in India four months ago to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the Modi government. However, this is his first bilateral state visit to the country.

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On Sunday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishakar called on the Maldivian president. In a post on X, the EAM wrote, “appreciate his commitment to enhance” the relationship between India and Maldives.

Pleased to call on President @MMuizzu today at the start of his State Visit to India.

Appreciate his commitment to enhance 🇮🇳 🇲🇻 relationship. Confident that his talks with PM @narendramodi tomorrow will give a new impetus to our friendly ties. pic.twitter.com/UwDjnCZ0t6

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 6, 2024

Muizzu, who is in India with First Lady Sajidha Mohamed, received an official welcome at a ceremony on Monday at Rashtrapati Bhavan by President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Then the Maldivian president will hold bilateral talks with PM Modi at Hyderabad House in New Delhi.

He is also slated to visit Mumbai and Bengaluru for business events. In the Karnataka capital, he will interact with the Maldivian diaspora.

What is the agenda of Muizzu’s India visit?

Ahead of the visit, Muizzu said that his key goal was to ease the fiscal burden of Maldives. “India is fully cognizant 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,” Muizzu told the BBC in a written interview.

The Maldivian president is expected to request a currency swap arrangement and debt support during bilateral talks with the Indian PM.

India has offered financial aid worth $1.4 billion to Male for infrastructure projects. The island nation is looking at a debt default since its foreign exchange reserves have dropped to $440 million, enough for a month and a half of exports, reports The Indian Express.

Modi and Muizzu will also discuss bilateral, regional, and international issues of mutual interest. The MEA said in a statement that the Maldives is India’s “key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and holds a special place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and India’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’”.

A statement from Muizzu’s office said the talks during the president’s trip will “focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation and further enhancing the longstanding relationship between the two nations”.  The president is committed to “enhancing bilateral ties with nations that play a crucial role in the development and growth of the Maldives, ensuring a dynamic and proactive foreign policy for the nation”, it added.

Muizzu’s visit is yet another sign of thaw in ties between India and Maldives.

Why did India-Maldives ties plunge?

The ties between the two countries took a blow after Muizzu assumed power last November. Soon, he asked India to withdraw its military personnel.

His campaign promise was to remove Indian military personnel from the Maldives.

The presence of these troops had emerged as a big bone of contention between the Muizzu-led Maldivian government and New Delhi.

India withdrew its over 80 military personnel from the island country before the May 10 deadline. The Indian troops operated and maintained two helicopters and Dornier aircraft gifted previously by India to the Maldives.

The MEA said that these helicopters and the aircraft would be operated by “competent Indian technical personnel” who would replace the “present personnel”, as per Indian Express.

Besides the issue of Indian troops, India’s ties with the Maldives were hit after some Maldivian ministers made derogatory remarks about PM Modi in response to his promotion of the Lakshadweep islands. The Muizzu government tried to salvage the situation by suspending the two junior ministers, but the damage was done.

The comments by Malsha Shareef and Mariyam Shiuna in the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts and fellow minister Abdulla Mahzoom Majid created a huge uproar in India, with social media users launching a ‘Boycott Maldives’ campaign. Some Indian celebrities also started promoting local tourism.

The incident triggered a diplomatic row between the two countries.

The Maldives saw a sharp decline in Indian tourists in the wake of the controversy. India is one of the biggest sources of tourism for the Indian Ocean country, whose economy relies heavily on the sector.

After returning from his five-day visit to China, Muizzu, without naming India, said earlier this year that the Maldives “may be a small island nation, but that does not allow others to bully” it.

How ties between the two nations are on the mend?

The relations between New Delhi and Malé have been on the mend in recent months.

Muizzu, who is seen as a pro-China leader, has dialled down his anti-India rhetoric ahead of his state visit.

During an interaction at the US’ Princeton University last month, the Maldivian president said that Male was not against any country. “We have never been against any one country at any point. It’s not ‘India Out’. Maldives faced a serious problem with foreign military presence on its soil. The people of Maldives do not want a single foreign soldier in the country,” he said.

Muizzu also said his government took action against the ministers who insulted PM Modi.
“No one should say such a thing. I took action against it. I will not accept insulting anyone like that, whether he is a leader or an ordinary person. Every human being has a reputation,” he said.

His remarks came during his visit to the US for the United Nations General Assembly.

Ahead of Muizzu’s India visit, Shareef and Shiuna, the two junior ministers who made disparaging remarks against PM Modi, resigned.

Sources told HT on condition of anonymity that Muizzu’s trip to India has been accorded the status of a state visit, indicating New Delhi’s intention to reset bilateral ties.

According to the MEA, the visit is a “testimony to the importance that India attaches to its relations with the Maldives and is expected to lend further momentum to cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries.”

In August, EAM Dr S Jaishankar visited the Maldives and held bilateral talks with his counterpart. He had also met President Muizzu. Before him, Maldivian foreign minister Moosa Zameer had visited India in May.

“Maldives is one of the cornerstones of our ‘Neighborhood First’ policy. To quote PM Modi -For India neighbourhood is a priority and in the neighbourhood Maldives is a priority. We also share the closest bonds of history and kinship,” Jaishankar said during his trip to Male.

In September, New Delhi lent enough funds to the Maldives to avoid the risk of defaulting on Islamic bond payments.

The two countries are also negotiating a $400-million currency swap agreement. The agenda of Muizzu’s trip could include boosting tourism in the Maldives. The island nation has already been making efforts to woo Indian tourists through its ‘Welcome India’ campaign, a far cry from ‘India Out’.

With inputs from agencies