Sending out a huge message on the revival of ties, the Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Maldivian President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on November 17. This will be Modi's first visit to the Maldives after assuming office. In March 2015, his visit was cancelled owing to the volatile political situation in that country.
Announcing Modi's day-long visit, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said the Prime Minister has accepted President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih invitation to attend the ceremony “with pleasure”. Kumar, however, made it clear that it is not a “bilateral visit”.
“In keeping with its neighbourhood first policy, India looks forward to closely working with Maldives in further deepening the partnership,” Kumar said. PM Modi will also visit Singapore to take part in the 13th East Asia Summit and other meetings on November 14 and 15, Kumar said at a media briefing.
Solih had invited Modi to his swearing-in on September 24 after the PM had called him to congratulate on his victory. During the telephonic conversation, Modi conveyed his good wishes for the strengthening of democracy, peace and prosperity in the country. Solih said the two leaders agreed to work closely together to further strengthen the close, friendly and good neighbourly relations between the two countries.
Solih had won the Maldives presidential election on the September 23 and Abdulla Yameen was forced to concede defeat. Yameen had agreed to vacate the position on November 17 when his term ends.
The relations between India and Maldives were on a downward spiral during Yameen's term, which was nothing short of an autocracy. Yameen had openly embraced China over India.
Some decisions by Yameen including imposition of restrictions on work visas for Indians and signing of a new Free Trade Agreement with Beijing also did not go down well with New Delhi.
The relations deteriorated further after Yameen imposed emergency on February 5 this year. India had criticised his decision and asked his government to restore the credibility of the electoral and political process by releasing political prisoners. The emergency lasted for 45 days.
Maldives is an important country for India's maritime security and there have been concerns in India over China's growing influence over the country in last few years.