President Mohamed Muizzu is set to visit India soon, with bilateral consultations already underway to determine the best date for the visit, Chief Spokesperson at the President’s Office Heena Waleed confirmed during a media briefing at the President’s Office on Tuesday. No additional details were provided.
While Muizzu had previously visited India for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in for a third term, he has not made an official state visit to the nation since taking office in November last year.
Relations initially seemed to maintain a status quo as Muizzu took office on the heels of a campaign which relied heavily on the ‘India Out’ protests by the then opposition. One of the President-elect’s main promises during his 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. Relations began to sour as the practical implementation of sending back the troops began.
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 since been suspended, their actions spurred calls in India for a boycott of the Maldives, which resulted in a steep drop in tourism arrivals from the nation.
According to the Muizzu administration, all Indian troops that had been stationed in the Maldives were withdrawn by 10 May and replaced with Indian civilian contractors.
Meanwhile, the three aircraft donated by the Indian government—one Dornier aircraft and two helicopters—that had previously been effectively grounded have now resumed operations.
There have been additional signs of improved bilateral relations, with Muizzu meeting Modi during the inauguration and Minister of Foreign Affairs Moosa Zameer recently visiting India to engage in bilateral discussions—signalling diplomatic engagement at the highest levels.
India’s Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, also, earlier this year, visited the Maldives, where he met and engaged in discussions with President Muizzu.