During the two-day state visit, President of the Maldives Mohamed Muizzu discussed measures to enhance India-Maldives relations with the Indian leadership, it was revealed by the foreign ministry on Tuesday. The invitation happened to fall on the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi – the Indian Prime Minister – where leaders from neighbouring countries assembled. Among them, there was Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and the President of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Upon his return to Male on Tuesday morning, President Muizzu ended the official trip of the presidency which included events such as attending a banquet hosted by the Indian President Droupadi Murmu. A major interest of the visit was the bilateral talk between both Presidents. The main focal areas of talks were focused on further strengthening the historical relations between Maldives and India.
President Murmu conveyed best wishes to the new government of Maldives and is confident that with the leadership of Muizzu, the nation will see progress and developments. Virtually both leaders devoted their attention to core subjects of the bilateral cooperation; this included the elements of people agenda, capacity building, trade as well and development cooperation.
Before leaving New Delhi for the southern state of Tamil Nadu, Maldives President Muizzu also had a bilateral meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker, during which the Indian counterpart underlined strong bilateral relations between the two countries. Jaishankar betrayed a predatory interest in cordial relations between the two nations and his desire to cultivate this aspect even further.
Mr. Muizzu, was also accompanied by a high-level delegation from the Maldivian government, his first trip outside the nation after being sworn into office in November 2023. In contrast to his predecessors, Muizzu designated his initial foreign visits as less focused on New Delhi as a regional starting point. He visited Turkey and China where indicators were showing that his government may change Maldives’ foreign policies.
Muizzu’s India visit requires a significant meaning in the ever-shifting context and geopolitical milieu of the relationships. Such measures have underscored the preparedness towards strengthening the given bilateral relations between the two nations of Maldives and India.
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