Is an invite to Mohamed Muizzu for Modi’s swearing-in a sign of thaw in India-Maldives’ ties?

This weekend, an array of world leaders will be in the National Capital to attend the historic third swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi and his government. Among those who have been invited, there’s one invite that has caused surprise for many: Maldives’ president Mohamed Muizzu.

On Friday (7 June), a Times of India report quoting official sources said that Muizzu had accepted India’s invite for the oath-taking event, most likely to be held on 9 June . Officials in Male said he would be accompanied by three members of his Cabinet, including Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer. This would mark his inaugural visit to India since assuming the presidency.

But why is an invite to Muizzu such a surprise? We take a closer look.

An invite to Muizzu

On Thursday, reports came in that Narendra Modi had extended an invite to Maldives’ president Mohamed Muizzu for his swearing-in ceremony, most likely to be held on 9 June and see an attendance of 8,000 dignitaries.

Initially, an invite had been extended to the leaders of five countries — Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Mauritius — reflecting Modi’s commitment to his ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy.

“The focus is on forging closer relations and enhancing cooperation with island nations in the Indian Ocean region. Besides, all the countries that have been invited have a key place in the ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy,” one of the people involved told Hindustan Times.

However, people familiar with developments said that the Maldives and Seychelles had been added to the list.

Significance of invite to Muizzu

The decision to invite Muizzu has got people buzzing considering India and Male’s strained relations in the recent times. A person involved in Modi’s oath-taking ceremony, however, has said that the decision to invite him is a signal that New Delhi is keen on continuing its cooperation with the neighbouring island country.

Ties between India-Maldives nosedived last November when Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge as Maldivian president. In fact, one of the main planks of his campaign had been the “ India Out ” campaign in which he had vowed that Indian troops stationed in the island country would be made to go.

And after being sworn in, Muizzu has moved further away from New Delhi and closer to Beijing. His first foreign visit was to Beijing — an indication of where his commitment lay.

Ties then worsened early this January when Muizzu ministers made derogatory remarks about Narendra Modi, which, in turn, snowballed into a diplomatic spat and even an Indian tourist boycott of the neighbouring country.

Following the outrage, Muizzu suspended the three ministers for making the unsavoury comments about Modi. However, he also issued a strong statement, saying that Maldives is a small country, but that is not a “licence” for anybody to “bully” us.

Muizzu has also insisted and seen the total repatriation of Indian military personnel stationed there, with the last batch leaving in May. The first batch of Indian military personnel was withdrawn from Maldives in early March, followed by the departure of the second batch in April, totalling 51 soldiers. During their tenure, the Indian troops had contributed to infrastructure maintenance, leveraging helicopters and other resources generously provided by the Indian administration to the Maldives, the state-run PSM News channel reported.

Muizzu also refused to renew the current hydrographic agreement with New Delhi. The agreement, signed in 2019, allowed India to comprehensively study the territorial waters of the island nation and was due for renewal in June 2024.

However, since March, Muizzu has gone soft on his anti-India stance. He called India its “closest ally” and urged New Delhi to provide debt relief to his country. Later in May, he sent his Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer to India to hold “discussions on bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest”.

And shortly after the Lok Sabha election results were declared, he congratulated Modi and his party for securing a third term.

Past invitees for Modi’s swearing-in ceremony

The presence of Maldives’ Muizzu along with Bangladesh’s Sheikh Hasina and Sri Lanka’s Ranil Wickremesinghe at Modi’s oath-taking ceremony follows a kind of convention that Modi has set.

For both of his swearing-in ceremonies — in 2014 and 2019 — he invited leaders from around the world.

For his first term, the leaders of regional grouping SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries had attended during which Modi was snapped shaking hands with then Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

In 2019, he had then invited leaders of the BIMSTEC countries — Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Sri Lanka. Kyrgyz president and then chair of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Sooronbay Jeenbekov, and Mauritius PM Pravind Kumar Jugnauth were also present at the event.

With inputs from agencies