Bilateral relations between India and the Maldives is a “steadying force”, India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, has said.
Jaishankar was speaking during the launch of the book ‘Strategic Conundrums: Reshaping India’s Foreign Policy’ by Indian author Rajiv Sikri, who had been a career diplomat with the Indian Foreign Service for more than 36 years.
India attaches great significance to relations with the Maldives even as the relationship between the two countries has varied throughout the years, Jaishankar said.
During his most recent visit to the Maldives, he recognised that the people, once again, realise the importance of maintain strong bilateral relations, he said.
“I saw that in my recent visit that this relationship is a steadying force as they get into somewhat choppy waters where their own prospects are concerned, especially in terms of the economic challenges,” the External Affairs Minister said.
India and the Maldives enjoyed fairly close relations during the Maumoon Abdul Gayoom era, with the country going on to provide significant contributions to the Maldives’ development.
However, relations soured between 2013 and 2018 during the Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom administration, with Yameen looking more and more to China for development assistance.
During the Ibrahim Mohamed Solih administration, from 2018 to 2023, bilateral relations improved significantly as Solih sought to distance the Maldives from China in favour of reestablishing India as a close ally in development and regional security. However, the then-opposition, which came into office in November 2023, viewed India-Maldives relations under the Solih administration as working to the detriment of the national identity and sovereignty of the Maldives.
While relations seemed to maintain a status quo as President Mohamed Muizzu initially took office, one of his main promises during his presidential campaign was the removal of ‘foreign influence’ from the Maldives’ shores—something many observers interpreted as a call for the complete removal of Indian troops stationed in the Maldives under various cooperation agreements, some of which had lasted through several administrations.
Even as both nations prepared for Indian troops to leave the Maldives, relations deteriorated to unprecedented levels when, in January, three deputy ministers from the Muizzu administration insulted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.
While all three have been suspended from their positions, their actions spurred calls in India for a boycott of the Maldives and resulted in a steep drop in tourism arrivals from the country.
Several senior Muizzu administration officials, including Cabinet ministers, have, however, acknowledged the need for the Maldives to engage with India on mutually beneficial terms and to build stronger political and economic ties.