Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu is likely to visit India in the second week of October. It comes in the backdrop of recent strained ties between the two countries. He had last come to New Delhi on June nine for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing in ceremony.
Incidentally, it will be his bilateral visit to India since Muizzu became president in November last year on the back of an ‘India Out’ campaign. He is perceived to be pro-China.
The Maldivian president will come to New Delhi for a three-day visit commencing October seven, sources said here on Friday. He will hold talks with Prime Minister Modi on October eight, they said.
Muizzu government’s efforts to reduce the Maldives’ dependence on India and a demand for the removal of some 85 Indian military personnel deployed there to operate three aircraft took bilateral ties to a fresh low.
Last December, his government terminated a 2019 agreement with India for joint hydrographic surveys. This was followed by several steps to bolster defence cooperation with China and Turkey.
However, there are signs of improvement in the overall relationship in recent months. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar visited Maldives in August and the two sides inked an agreement on introducing India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) system in there and inaugurated several projects built with Indian grants and loans.
Signs of a thaw came from Muizzu himself, when he described India as “one of the closest allies and invaluable partners” of the Maldives at a meeting with Jaishankar.
Earlier this month, Muizzu’s spokesperson announced he would visit India “very soon” on the same day that two junior ministers, who were suspended in January for derogatory comments against Modi, resigned from the government.
The Indian side has also helped the Maldives avoid the risk of defaulting on its Islamic bond payments by extending the State Bank of India’s (SBI) subscription to government treasury bills worth $50 million for another year.
The treasury bills had matured on September 19. In May this year, the SBI subscribed treasury bills worth $50 million under the same mechanism, again at the request of the Maldivian government.
Meanwhile, PTI reported from Male that Muizzu has denied having an "India Out" agenda, asserting that the island nation had a "serious problem" with the presence of foreign military on its soil.
Muizzu, who is in the US to attend the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, made the remarks on Thursday while responding to a question at Princeton University's “Dean's Leadership Series”.
"We have never been against any one country at any point. It's not India Out. Maldives faced a serious problem with foreign military presence on this soil," Maldivian news portal adhadhu.Com quoted him as saying. "The people of Maldives do not want a single foreign soldier in the country," Muizzu said.
The ties between India and the Maldives came under severe strain since November last year when Muizzu, known for his pro-China leanings, took charge as Maldivian president.
Muizzu had asked India to withdraw nearly 90 Indian military personnel operating three aviation platforms gifted by the country. India withdrew its military personnel by May 10 and replaced them with civilian personnel to operate a Dornier aircraft and two helicopters.
Muizzu further stressed he had taken action against deputy ministers for insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media.
"No one should say such a thing. I took action against it. I will not accept insulting anyone like that, whether he is a leader or an ordinary person. Every human being has a reputation," the report quoted him as saying.
Earlier this year, deputy ministers in Maldives' youth ministry were suspended for derogatory social media posts against Prime Minister Modi following a backlash, with New Delhi strongly raising the matter with Male.
The deputy ministers criticised Modi for his post on social media following his visit to Lakshadweep, inferring that it was an attempt to project the Union Territory as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives. Prime Minister Modi was in Lakshadweep on January two and three to inaugurate several projects.
