New Delhi: Prime Minister Modi sought to drive home the message of unity and friendship as he met with political leaders from different parties in the Maldives. The PM who is on a two-day state visit to the island nation, arrived on Friday in Male where he met and held talks with his Maldivian counterpart, President Mohamed Muizzu.
Post the talks, the two leaders announced that four MoUs and three agreements had been inked, India had extended a Line of Credit (LoC) worth Rs 4,850 crore to Maldives, and discussions towards an FTA had begun “Had a meaningful meeting with members of different political parties of the Maldives.
The participation of leaders across the political spectrum underscores the bipartisan support for the strong and time-tested India-Maldives friendship. Our shared values continue to guide this important partnership,” the PM wrote on X.
About PM Modi's Visit To Maldives
The PM’s visit comes at a special time, as this is the year in which India and Maldives celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations. His visit also coincides with the Maldives’ Independence Day celebrations for which he had been invited as a special guest. Marking the occasion External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who had accompanied the prime minister to Male, wrote.
“Honoured to join PM @narendramodi for the Independence Day celebrations in Malé today. We celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations as well, reiterating our commitment to further strengthen our partnership for peace, prosperity and stability in the Indian Ocean Region.”
The minister’s mention of the Indian Ocean region will not go unnoticed. Eyebrows were raised when President Muizzu broke with tradition and visited Ankara and Beijing in his first state visit shortly after taking power in January last year. Given that New Delhi had normally been the first port of call for any Maldivian president till then, concerns rose that President Muizzu may be adopting an anti-India stance.
Such concerns were driven by the fact that the Maldivian president had campaigned on an ‘India Out’ message and requested all Indian soldiers to formally leave the Maldives by March 15 last year. Matters were made worse for New Delhi by the fact that President Muizzu signed two military agreements with China shortly after. Prime Minister Modi’s visit is being seen as a sign that New Delhi wants to “reset” its relationship with its island neighbour.
The PM has used his visit to meet as many Maldivian parliamentarians as possible, from Vice President Uz Hussain Mohamed to Speaker Raheem Abdulla to former Maldivian president Mohamed Nasheed, who is believed to have a warm relationship with India. Apart from meeting these leaders, Modi and Muizzu inaugurated a new building of the Ministry of Defence in Malé. The symbolic significance of this gesture would not have been lost on Beijing. Meeting first with the Maldivian vice-president, the prime minister made it clear that their discussions had touched upon “key pillars” in the India-Maldives relationship.
“Our nations continue to work closely in sectors like infrastructure, technology, climate change, energy and more. This is greatly beneficial to our people. We look forward to deepening this partnership in the years to come,” the PM said.
Bonhomie On Display
Bonhomie was again on display as the PM then met with the Maldivian Speaker Raheem Abdulla. Tweeting post the meeting, he announced the formation of the India-Maldives Parliamentary Friendship Group. “The formation of the India-Maldives Parliamentary Friendship Group in the 20th Majlis is a welcome step for bilateral ties. India remains committed to supporting capacity building in the Maldives.”
Analysts viewed Prime Minister Modi’s visit as a bid to build up a pro-India message, and no one articulated this better than Mohamed Nasheed. Taking to X, the former Maldivian president wrote. “Delighted to see Prime Minister Modi land in Maldives on what will be a very productive trip. It is clear from the warm welcome, there is cross-party political consensus on the indisputable value to the Maldives of India’s longstanding friendship.”
While New Delhi is pulling out all the stops to woo Male it will know China will not stop its efforts to influence the strategically significant island nation. In a congratulatory message to President Muizzu for the Maldives Independence Day celebrations, Chinese President Xi Jinping said that he attached “great importance to the development of ChinaMaldives relations.”
President Xi added that China “would like to work together with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu to continuously promote the China-Maldives comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership, and jointly build a China-Maldives community with a shared future.”
