Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended greetings to the President of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, even as relations between the two nations have soured since the pro-China president assumed office in November last year. 

In a press release, the Indian High Commission in Maldives shared the prime minister’s Eid wishes for the president and the people of Maldives. 

“On the auspicious occasion of Eid Al-Adha, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India @NarendraModi extended warm greetings to His Excellency President of Maldives Dr. @MMuizzu, the Government & the people of the Republic of Maldives,” it said in a post on X.

On the auspicious occasion of Eid Al-Adha, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India @NarendraModi extended warm greetings to His Excellency President of Maldives Dr. @MMuizzu, the Government & the people of the Republic of Maldives .

The full PR is here: @IndianDiplomacypic.twitter.com/qG42iFwRfK

— India in Maldives (@HCIMaldives) June 16, 2024

In his message, PM Modi “emphasised the values of sacrifice, compassion and brotherhood, embodied by this festival, which are essential in building a peaceful and inclusive world.”

“Prime Minister also highlighted the celebration of the festival, as part of India’s multi-cultural heritage, across the length and breadth of India with fervour and gaiety,” the message read.

Soon after being elected, Muizzu demanded a complete withdrawal of Indian military personnel from the archipelago. Amid increasing tensions, Indian tourists had announced a boycott of the island nation after three Maldivian ministers made derogatory comments about Prime Minister Modi following his visit to Lakshadweep.

But India extended an olive branch by inviting him to the swearing-in ceremony of PM Modi. Union Minister S Jaishankar also held a bilateral meeting with the Maldivian President while he was in New Delhi. “Delighted to call on President Dr Mohamed Muizzu of Maldives today in New Delhi. Look forward to India and Maldives working together closely,” he had said on ‘X’.

Male:

In a goodwill gesture, India has decided to extend vital budgetary support to the Maldives government with the rollover of a USD 50 million Treasury Bill for another year on the Maldivian government’s special request, it was announced on Monday.

The State Bank of India has subscribed for one more year to the USD 50 million Government Treasury Bill, issued by the Ministry of Finance of Maldives, upon maturity of the previous subscription, the High Commission of India said in a brief statement on Monday.

The Indian government took this decision despite the bilateral ties experiencing turbulence since Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, a pro-China leader, assumed office six months back.

These Government Treasury Bills are subscribed by SBI under government-to-government, a unique arrangement at zero cost (interest-free) to the Government of Maldives.

The continuation of subscription has been made at the special request of the Government of Maldives to secure budgetary support from the Government of India, the statement said.

The Maldivian government on Monday thanked India for its support.

“I thank EAM Dr S Jaishankar and the Government of India for extending vital budgetary support to the Maldives with the rollover of USD 50 million Treasury Bill. This is a true gesture of goodwill which signifies the longstanding friendship between Maldives and India,” Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer tweeted.

The Government of India has provided budget support of USD 50 million to the Maldives. The support was in the form of a rollover of USD 50 million Treasury Bill, for an additional year, through the State Bank of India, Male’, from May 13, 2024, the Maldivian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Government of India’s decision to rollover the T-Bill came following a request to that effect made by Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer to India’s External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar, during the official bilateral visit to India from May 8-10, the statement said.

The Government of Maldives is highly appreciative of the generous support that the Government of India has been providing to the Maldives in the form of budgetary support. A large number of infrastructural developmental projects and High Impact Community Developmental projects are underway with assistance from the Government of India, which consists of a notable part as grant assistance, the statement said.

The Government of Maldives looks forward to continuing this collaborative partnership for the mutual benefit and prosperity of their people, it said.

Zameer after coming back from the visit said that significant strides have been made in expediting India-assisted projects in the Maldives, as he underscored the government’s commitment to prioritising the resumption and completion of these projects.

It comes amid a downturn in the bilateral ties between the two countries since President Muizzu assumed office in November and immediately asked India to withdraw some 89 Indian military personnel from the country by May 10. The Indian military personnel were operating three aviation platforms in the island nation.

Zameer on Saturday said 76 Indian military personnel were replaced by civilian employees of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited which manufactured the two helicopters gifted by India, thus also ending the suspense over the exact number of those repatriated at the insistence of Male.

However, the Maldives government has no intention of removing the doctors from India at Senahiya.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Mohamed Saeed, Maldives’ Minister of Economic Development and Trade, met with Munu Mahawar, Indian High Commissioner to the archipelago nation.
| Photo Credit: X/@MoEDmv

India on May 1 said it looked forward to strengthening bilateral economic cooperation with the Maldives as its envoy held discussions with a senior minister of the archipelagic nation.

Mohamed Saeed, Maldives’ Minister of Economic Development and Trade, met with Munu Mahawar, Indian High Commissioner to the archipelago nation on Tuesday.

The meeting comes weeks after India allowed the export of certain quantities of essential commodities for the year 2024-25 at the request of the Maldivian government and ahead of the May 10 deadline imposed by President Mohamed Muizzu for the complete repatriation of 88 Indian military personnel from his country.

OPINION | Stability in Maldives: On the election results and India ties 

“Minister @em_saeed met with Indian High Commissioner to Maldives, H. E. Munu Mahawar, and discussed potential areas for trade & economic cooperation. @HCIMaldives,” posted Maldives’ Ministry of Economic Development and Trade from its official X handle along with photos of the meeting.

Soon after, the Indian High Commission responded: “We look forward to continued engagements with @MoEDmv for further enhancing India-Maldives economic cooperation.”

Earlier on April 5, displaying a strong commitment to supporting the human-centric development in the archipelagic nation, India said the request to allow export of certain quantities of essential commodities for the year 2024-25 was being done “under a unique bilateral mechanism” under which the quotas for each of these items have been revised upwards.

There was also an increase of 5 per cent in the quotas for eggs, potatoes, onions, sugar, rice, wheat flour and dal (pulses) and the approved quantities were the highest since this arrangement came into effect in 1981.

The 1981 India and Maldives trade agreement provides for the export of essential commodities. According to the records from the Indian High Commission, growing from modest beginnings, India-Maldives bilateral trade crossed the $300 million mark for the first time in 2021, which further crossed the $500 million mark in 2022.

“India emerged as Maldives’ 2nd largest trade partner in 2022 and the largest in 2023. Indian imports from the Maldives primarily comprise scrap metals while Indian exports to the Maldives include a variety of engineering and industrial products like drugs and pharmaceuticals, radar apparatus, rock boulders, aggregates, cement and agricultural produce such as rice, spices, fruits, vegetables and poultry produce etc,” it said.

The April 5 announcement also said that the quota for river sand and stone aggregates, crucial items for the booming construction industry in the Maldives, has been increased by 25% to 10,00,000 MT each.

New Delhi:

India has allowed limited exports of essential commodities, including sugar, wheat, rice, and onions, to the Maldives, the government said on Friday, even as ties between Male and New Delhi remained tense amid rising Chinese influence.

India, a leading exporter of rice, sugar and onions, has imposed various curbs on exports of these food commodities to keep a lid on local prices ahead of the general election.

Shipments of these commodities in the 2024/25 financial year which started on April 1 to Maldives “will be exempted from any existing or future restriction/prohibition on export,” the government said in a notification.

The South Asian country has allowed exports of 124,218 metric tons of rice, 109,162 tons of wheat flour, 64,494 tons of sugar, 21,513 metric tons of potatoes, 35,749 tons of onions, and 427.5 million eggs to the Maldives.

India has also allowed exports of 1 million tons each of stone aggregate and river sand.

The Maldives, which has traditionally had close ties to India, is pivoting towards Beijing since new President Mohamed Muizzu was elected in October on a promise to end the country’s pro-India stance.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A file photo of Chinese President Xi Jinping and Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

China said that it supports the Maldives in safeguarding its sovereignty on March 12, as the first batch of Indian military personnel operating a helicopter left the island nation and was replaced by a civilian crew.

Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives manning the operations of a helicopter left the country after handing over the operations of the chopper to an Indian civilian crew, the Maldivian media reported on March 11.

Asked for his comments on the first batch of the Indian military personnel’s withdrawal from the Maldives, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said he was not aware of the specifics. “China supports Maldives in safeguarding the sovereignty and working with other countries on the basis of equality,” he said.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, seen as a pro-China leader, has affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10.

Mr. Muizzu asked India to withdraw nearly 90 military personnel from the Maldives. India agreed to replace the military personnel with civilians and continue the operations of two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft provided to the country for providing humanitarian and medical evacuation services.

Mr. Muizzu’s government also allowed a sophisticated Chinese ‘research ship’ to dock at Male. Last week, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) signed a deal with China’s military. Under this deal, China will supply ‘non-lethal’ weapons to the Maldives free of cost.

In January, Mr. Muizzu visited China during which the two countries announced the elevation of bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership besides signing 20 agreements to assist Maldives infrastructure. China also announced a $130 million grant besides promising to send more Chinese tourists to the tourism-dependent Maldives.

After Mr. Muizzu’s visit, China is sending more of its tourists to Maldives on his request in an apparent attempt to reduce the dependence on Indian tourists who have recently topped the list of international tourists to the tourism-dependent country.

Male:

Former Maldivian foreign minister Abdulla Shahid said on Saturday that the claims made by President Mohamed Muizzu about “thousands of Indian military personnel” were just another in a string of lies, adding that there are no armed foreign soldiers stationed in the country.

Posting on his social media account X, the newly elected president of the Maldivian Democratic Party said, “100 days in, it’s clear: President Muizzu’s claims of ‘thousands of Indian military personnel’ were just another in a string of lies. The current administration’s inability to provide specific numbers speaks volumes. There are no armed foreign soldiers stationed in the country.”

He stressed that “transparency matters and that the truth must prevail.”

Muizzu’s party had focussed its election campaign on the removal of Indian troops from Maldives. Currently, there are around 70 Indian troops, along with Dornier 228 maritime patrol aircraft and two HAL Dhruv helicopters, stationed in the Maldives.

On the second day of assuming office, Muizzu officially requested the Indian government to withdraw its military personnel from the Maldives.

Last December, Muizzu had claimed that following talks with the Indian government, an agreement was reached to withdraw Indian military personnel.

Read | Maldives Asks India To Withdraw Military Personnel By March 15: Report

The president also stated that diplomatic negotiations were underway for the withdrawal of Indian troops. He detailed that, as agreed in the last negotiations, the military personnel on one of the three aviation platforms would be withdrawn before March 10, 2024, and the military personnel on the remaining two platforms would be withdrawn before May 10, 2024.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of External Affairs said that India will replace military personnel at aviation platforms in the Maldives with competent Indian technical personnel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Indian Coast Guard ship Samarth and ICGS Abhinav along with Sri Lanka Naval Ship Samudura are participating in the exercise ‘DOSTI-16’ while Bangladesh is participating as an observer.
| Photo Credit: X@IndiaCoastGuard

Highlighting the importance of “collaboration and interoperability” among the coast guards personnel of the Maldives, India and Sri Lanka, Maldivian Defence Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon said the trilateral exercise ‘Dosti’ will unite the troika to address “shared maritime security concerns through collaboration.”

Mr. Maumoon was speaking at an event to formally inaugurate the 16th iteration of ‘Dosti,” the biennial exercise, which began on Thursday and would continue until Sunday.

Also Read | Amid row with India, Maldives turns to Sri Lanka for medical evacuation support

Indian Coast Guard ship Samarth and ICGS Abhinav along with Sri Lanka Naval Ship Samudura are participating in the exercise ‘DOSTI-16’ while Bangladesh is participating as an observer.

Sri Lanka has described ‘Dosti’ as a trilateral exercise that aims to enhance cooperation, strengthen friendship, improve mutual operational capability, and develop interoperability among the Coast Guard personnel of India, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka.

“Scheduled from February 22nd to 25, the exercise provides participating forces with opportunities to engage in various maritime activities, including interdiction operations, search and rescue missions, surveillance, and communication drills,” the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) said in a statement.

These activities aim to enhance their collective capability to respond to maritime security and safety challenges,” it said.

Ministers of the Maldivian government, as well as the Chief of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Abdul Raheem Abdul Latheef, Vice Chief of Defence Force, Brigadier General Ibrahim Hilmy, Additional Director General of Indian Coast Guard, ADG S Paramesh, and some foreign ambassadors, took part in the inauguration ceremony that was held on February 22, the MNDF statement said late on Friday night.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Maumoon emphasised the importance of greater collaboration between the coast guards of Maldives, India and Sri Lanka to address “shared maritime security concerns.”

Also Read | India and Maldives will sort out issues bilaterally, Wickremesinghe says, and hopes it will be soon

Exercise ‘Dosti’ focuses on regional cooperation in areas such as search and rescue, medical evacuations, countering piracy, pollution response, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

According to Edition.mv, a news portal, Mr. Maumoon said, “President Dr Mohamed Muizzu’s administration places the highest priority on ensuring that close relations, peace and stability is maintained between Maldives and neighbouring nations.”

He said that the President has assured that he will focus on maintaining regional stability and noted that Sri Lanka’s participation in the training since 2012 has brought further advancement to the programme, the portal said.

“Trilateral Joint Exercise ‘EX-DOSTI-16’ begins. Minister of Defence @mgmaumoon graced the inauguration ceremony, emphasising the importance of this historic event in uniting the Coast Guards of Maldives, India and Sri Lanka to address shared maritime security concerns through collaboration,” the MNDF posted on its official X handle along with photos from the event late on Friday night local time.

Apart from the formal inauguration, Munu Mahawar, High Commissioner of India and S Paramesh, ADG Indian Coast Guard, also welcomed Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon, Minister of Defence, Maldives, and Moosa Zameer, Foreign Minister, Maldives onboard ICGS Samarth for trilateral exercise DOSTI XVI.

“Strengthening bonds and fostering cooperation among our maritime neighbours!” the Indian Coast Guard posted on X along with the photos of the visit.

“The trainings … will include maritime interdiction operations, ocean search and rescue operations, maritime surveillance and communication drills,” Edition.mv said, adding that the training activities are being held in the Male area and surrounding seas.

The ‘Dosti’ series of naval exercises had begun in 1992 with only Maldives and India. Sri Lanka joined the programme in 2012 and this year, in the 16th edition, the Bangladesh Coast Guard too has joined as an observer.

President-elect of the Maldives Mohamed Muizzu (right) of the People’s National Congress party attends a gathering with supporters following the country’s presidential election, in Male on October 02, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The new Maldives President-elect’s transition team hopes to invite Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the swearing-in ceremony of Mohamed Muizzu in Male next month, says Maldives speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed.

In an interview to The Hindu, Mr. Nasheed — who has broken away from outgoing President Ibu Solih and his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to form his own party, which could join the incoming government — said that he would also send an invitation to Mr. Modi for the ceremony expected to be held on November 17. He stressed his belief that the new Maldivian President would not be “anti-India” or “pro-China”, as he has generally been portrayed in recent commentary. 

Mr. Modi had attended Mr. Solih’s swearing-in ceremony in 2018, a rare gesture that he has not made for any other leader in the neighbourhood thus far. Dr. Muizzu — the former Mayor of Male who campaigned on a “sovereignty” plank in the election — had served in the Yameen government as Minister for Housing (2013-2018), and was responsible for many of the infrastructure projects that Chinese companies won at the time, leading to the impression that he will follow the policies that had earlier strained ties with India.

Combating anti-India perceptions

“The international media has characterised our election as between India and China, and also has characterised Dr. Muizzu as pro-China. I don’t think all this was exactly true,” Mr. Nasheed said, claiming that the “India Out” campaign started by the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), which is part of the ruling coalition, was not the “main election issue”. Anti-incumbency was the chief reason for the MDP’s loss in the Presidential run-off poll held last Saturday, Mr. Nasheed said.

“The campaign against Indian military presence here has subsided and that really wasn’t the main campaign point… My feeling is that he will continue with our foreign policy… He would know that the relations with India go back hundreds of years, and I can’t see much changing because of a change in government,” Mr. Nasheed said, when asked to comment on Dr. Muizzu’s statement at a public rally this week that the people had voted against “foreign troops”. He indicated that the President-elect may allow approximately 75 Indian military personnel stationed in the Maldives to stay and help maintain and operate the helicopters and Dornier aircraft gifted by India.

Harbour project deal

Every Maldivian government, dating back to the rule of former President Abdul Gayoom, had appreciated the role of Indian security forces in the Indian Ocean, Mr. Nasheed said. He added that a rollback of the now-contentious Uthuru Thilafalhu Coastguard Harbour project, based on a deal with India signed in 2021, was unlikely.

“I can’t see why we would want to do anything to change this agreement. There’s nothing wrong with it,” said Mr. Nasheed, adding that the reason for the controversy was the previous government’s refusal to make the Uthuru Thilafahlu Project agreement for the development of a harbour to dock, maintain and repair Maldivian National Defence Forces’ coast guard vessels.

“I’m most sensitive of our security and safety and we know that terrorist organisations can come from anywhere. A few hundred people can come and really disturb the Maldives, and there’s nothing better than having closer defence cooperation with India,” Mr. Nasheed added.

Switched loyalties

While Mr. Nasheed had cordial ties with India during his tenure as Maldives President from 2008 to 2012, the relationship went sour over the past decade over the impression that New Delhi had switched its loyalties to the Solih government.

After breaking from Mr. Solih and the MDP in June this year, Mr. Nasheed launched a new party, called The Democrats. In the Presidential poll, it put up its own candidate against Mr. Solih and won about 7% of the vote. This was nearly enough, say analysts, to have helped the incumbent President win narrowly if the MDP had stayed united. When asked if he had played spoiler, Mr. Nasheed rejected the charge. 

“I have been telling everyone since 2020 that Mr. Solih would not win a re-election bid,” said Mr. Nasheed, arguing that the current Presidential election format in a multiparty system made it difficult for any incumbent to win more than 50% of the vote. The Maldivian Speaker has now been pushing for a referendum to move to a more parliamentary system, and said that he would try to make the case for that with the new President once he is sworn in.

“The people have decided and don’t want Indian troops to stay in the Maldives. Therefore, foreign soldiers cannot be here against our sentiments, against our will,’’ the President-elect said.
| Photo Credit: AFP

India looks forward to engaging the new Maldives government on “all issues”, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, responding to the Maldivian President-elect Mohamed Muizzu’s statement that Indian military personnel would be asked to leave the islands.

On Wednesday evening, Indian High Commissioner to Male Munnu Mahawar met Mr. Muizzu, and handed over a letter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulating him on his electoral victory.

“Our High Commissioner in Male called on the President-elect, and he had a good discussion on various aspects of our bilateral relationship including development cooperation,” MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said. 

‘India Out’ campaign

Last Saturday’s run-off election saw Mr. Muizzu, the former Mayor of Male, defeat incumbent Maldives President Ibu Solih by 19,000 votes, or an 8% margin. The results have been widely seen as an upset for India, that had close ties with the Solih administration. Speaking at a public rally after the elections, Mr. Muizzu, who stood as the candidate for the PNC-PPM coalition that had campaigned on an “India Out” plank, had said that the “sovereignty” of the Maldives was most important.

“The people have decided and don’t want Indian troops to stay in the Maldives. Therefore, foreign soldiers cannot be here against our sentiments, against our will,’’ the President-elect was quoted as saying by Maldivian news outlets on Tuesday.

“So, I have to tell the [Indian] ambassador who is going to meet me that we will have a very good relationship with these values,” he had added. 

Coast Guard project opposed

While India has had a strong military presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) for many years, naval and airforce personnel have been stationed in the Addu and Lammu islands since 2013 in order to maintain and operate two helicopters and Dornier aircraft that India had loaned the Maldives for reconnaissance operations over the past decade. In November 2021, the Maldives National Defence Force told a Parliamentary Committee that a total of 75 Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives.

In February 2021, the Maldivian opposition protested an MoU or draft agreement on maritime security signed by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar with the Maldives Defence Minister, in order to construct a Coast Guard harbour base at the Uthuru Thilafalhu atoll. The construction was inaugurated during a visit by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in May this year, and this has been the focus of the PPM’s “India Out” protests. 

‘Close collaboration needed’

While the MEA spokesperson did not specifically respond to Mr. Muizzu’s threat to remove Indian military personnel — a move that could overturn an important component of India-Maldives strategic ties in the past few years — he said that the two countries needed to cooperate “closely”.

“The focus of our partnership with Maldives has always been on capacity building and working together to address our shared challenges and priorities. As neighbours, we need to collaborate closely to address the challenges confronting our region such as transnational crimes and Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief,” Mr. Bagchi said, adding that the government looks forward to “engaging with the new administration in Maldives on all such issues.” 

A commuter takes pictures with his mobile phone of a decorated wall along a street ahead of the country’s presidential election, in Male.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Over 2,80,000 people of the Maldives will have a say in the presidential polls on Saturday [September 9, 2023], a race that has been shaped by three presidents – the incumbent, a breakaway leader, and a jailed politician.  

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is seeking a record second term amid a host of political challenges, including a diminished party, after his former colleague Mohamed Nasheed — Parliamentary Speaker and former President — quit the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) earlier this year amid growing political differences.

Following the split that sharply divided party loyalists, Mr. Nasheed’s backers set up a new party called The Democrats, whose candidate, legislator Ilyas Labeeb, is among seven rivals challenging President Solih.  Male Mayor Mohamed Muizzu, who is running from the People’s National Congress — jailed President Abdulla Yameen was barred from contesting — has drawn considerable support, locals note.

Two other candidates drawing attention are Jumhooree Party leader Qasim Ibrahim and Ahmed Faris Maumoon, son of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who ruled Maldives with an iron first for three decades until the Indian Ocean Archipelago’s shift to democracy in 2008. In a likely scenario where no candidate secures over 50 % of the mandate, a second round of elections will be held.

During his term, India-friendly President Solih has focussed on education, health and civic infrastructure, carrying out a host of projects in capital Male and the atolls, many of which are backed by grants and loans from New Delhi.

While Indian assistance in defence, infrastructure and education have grown, critics of the Solih administration question its “over-reliance” on India.  Former President Abdulla Yameen, whose regime was known for its China tilt, sought to mobilise popular support against “Indian intervention”, leading the ‘India Out’ campaign between his two court convictions.

Days before the election, government critics circulated a letter on social media claiming it was communication between the foreign ministers of India and Maldives, on India using Maldivian land for Indian military operations. Both, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maldives, and the High Commission of India in Male rejected the letter as fake and fabricated.

Key issues

While the world observes elections in the island nation for its geopolitical stakes in the region, for Maldivians, the election is more about concerns surrounding land in the congested capital, and their economic fortunes in an economy strained by debt and rapid, asymmetric development.

On the penultimate day of campaign on Thursday, Male’s streets were lit up with some characteristic late-night rallies, as bold posters of candidates pop up every few yards. “We have seen the voter turn out increase in the last three presidential elections from 86.58 % (2003), 87.20 % (2013) and 89.22 % (2018),” an official of the Election Commission said on Monday.

In addition to capital Male, polling stations have been set up in 189 atolls, apart from tourist resorts to enable the scattered population exercise their franchise in the country’s fourth presidential election since its  switch to democracy in 2008.