Firstpost Defence Summit: Maldives famous in India for wrong reasons, says ex-Min Mariya Didi

“Maldives has been famous in India for the wrong reasons, especially on the social media,” Mariya Didi, the former defence minister of Maldives, said Saturday, addressing Firstpost Defence Summit 2024 in New Delhi.

“We (Maldivian) are not people like that. We love foreigners visiting our country and we invite you all to the Maldives,” Didi said.

India-Maldives diplomatic row

The diplomatic row between India and the Maldives began on social media after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 4 posted pictures from his visit to Lakshadweep. While the Indian PM had not mentioned the Maldives anywhere in his posts, many on social media began to question why anybody should go to the Maldives when we have such pristine beauty in India.

Some politicians in the island nation also made racist posts on X (formerly Twitter) in reaction to a tweet by PM Modi wherein he shared pictures of his visit to Lakshadweep.

The ministers used derogatory words against PM Modi, accused India of targeting Maldives, and said India faces significant challenges in competing with the Maldives in beach tourism.

Reacting to the outrage, the Maldives government suspended three ministers over the indecent remarks, including Shiuna, Malsha and Hassan Zihan.

For the unversed, diplomatic tensions spiked after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu assumed office in November 2023 and requested the Indian government to withdraw Indian military personnel from the island nation.

India always there to help Maldives

Climate threat is an existential threat for Maldives, Didi said, adding: “During Asian Tsunami, when we had difficulties, we had India coming for us as a first responder.”

“The Indian Army has always helped us. Chinese ships are in the Maldives. What we don’t want to see is a geopolitical situation that might lead to war,” she said.

Peace in Maldives is of utmost importance

“For the sake of us and for the region we have to make sure that we maintain peace and stability and maintain friendship with neighbouring countries,” Didi said.

“Peace is our country and our region is of utmost importance to us, which is why when our government was in power, we saw that we always had good relations with our neighbours, and others in the international community,” she said.

“But with the present government, we see that they are also slowly coming to the essences. We are seeing Maldivian Coast Guard is taking part in the Indian naval games in Visakhapatnam,” Didi added.

To enhance maritime security and interoperability, coast guard personnel from India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are participating in the exercise ‘DOSTI-16’ that is being held between February 22 and 25. Bangladesh is participating as an observer.

have embarked on a four-day trilateral exercise to identify emerging maritime challenges in the Indian Ocean Region.