2018 vs 2023: Modi is the difference in Maldives' two Presidential inaugurations

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be conspicuous by his absence when several foreign leaders attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new China-friendly Maldivian president-elect Mohamed Muizzu. While Maldives had invited PM Modi for the oath-taking ceremony of Muizzu, India chose to send Union minister Kiren Rijiju to represent it at the ceremony. Prime Minister Modi had attended the swearing-in ceremony of incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in September 2018. During the swearing-in ceremony of Solih, Modi was sitting beside former Maldivian presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. His visit to the Maldives had laid the foundation for strong ties between the two countries. Widely seen as a pro-China leader, Muizzu defeated incumbent President Solih in the presidential runoff in September. “At the invitation of the President-elect of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Earth Sciences will visit Maldives from 16-18 November to represent India at the inaugural ceremony of the presidency,” the MEA said in a statement. It said the high-level ministerial representation from India at the inaugural ceremony underscores India’s commitment to further deepen the substantive cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries. “Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region and occupies a special place in the prime minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’,” the MEA said in a statement. The statement came two days after Beijing announced that State Councilor Shen Yiqin will represent China at the event in Male. With Muizzu set to assume office, India will be keenly watching what policies Male will adopt vis-à-vis New Delhi in terms of economic, defence and security cooperation. As part of New Delhi’s ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’, the Maldives is strategically significant to India because of its location in the Indian Ocean. India and Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious and commercial links steeped in antiquity and enjoy close, cordial and multi-dimensional relations. However, regime instability in the Maldives since 2008 has posed significant challenges to the India-Maldives relationship, particularly in the political and strategic spheres. Ties between India and the Maldives deteriorated significantly when Abdulla Yameen served as the President between 2013 and 2018. It was only after Solih came to power in 2018 that ties between New Delhi and Male improved. Solih had been consistently focusing on boosting ties with India and was pursuing an “India First” policy. Following his election, Muizzu had said that expelling all Indian military personnel present in his Indian Ocean archipelago nation would be his first priority. At the same time, however, Muizzu said that he would not be replacing the Indian security personnel with Chinese personnel. With inputs from agencies