New chapter in relations between India and Maldives, Foreign Minister of Maldives coming three months after Muizzu

New Delhi: The sourness in the relations between India and Maldives now seems to be going away. Last year there was a diplomatic dispute between the two countries. But only last year, Maldives President Mohammed Muizzu visited India twice. Now Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Khalil is on a three-day visit to India. he/she will stay in India till January 4, 2025. During this he/she will meet Foreign Minister S Jaishankar. There will be talks on strengthening economic, maritime and people-to-people ties between the two countries. This visit is an important step towards improving relations between the two countries.

Economic and maritime cooperation will be discussed

Maldives Foreign Minister Abdulla Khalil is the first foreign guest to visit India in 2025. Khalil became the Foreign Minister of Maldives on 30 September 2024. Before this he/she was the Health Minister. he/she will meet Foreign Minister S Jaishankar during his/her visit to India. Both leaders will discuss bilateral relations. We will also talk about giving a new direction to economic, maritime and people-to-people cooperation. Khalil has earlier also appreciated India’s help to Maldives during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Relationships turned sour last year

Let us tell you that in January last year, two ministers of Maldives had made objectionable remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After this the relations between the two countries turned sour. However, the Maldives government dismissed both those ministers. But this incident had created a diplomatic controversy.

Muizzu also attended Modi’s swearing-in ceremony

In June last year, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi formed the government for the third time, he/she also invited Maldives President Muizzu to his/her swearing-in ceremony. Muizzu enthusiastically participated in the swearing-in ceremony of Modi. After this, relations between the two countries started improving. And after 4 months, on 6-10 October, Muizzu reached India for the second time on an official visit.

Muizzu said this about India tour

Muizzu had described the India tour as a fruitful discussion. he/she had said that this has further strengthened the relations between the two countries. On October 10, he/she wrote on Twitter, ‘Our commitment to further strengthen the Maldives-India partnership is unwavering. I look forward to future cooperation for the mutual benefit of both countries and people.

India is continuously helping its neighbor

The Foreign Minister of Maldives will review the progress made on the comprehensive economic and maritime security partnership made during Muizzoo’s last visit. In September last year, India provided financial assistance to Maldives by investing $50 million in treasury bills. This help was very important for Maldives which was struggling with cash crunch. Since then India has been helping its neighboring country financially.

Apart from this, the economy of Maldives had become quite weak after the Covid epidemic. India has extended assistance to Maldives up to $400 million under the US dollar/euro swap window and up to Rs 30 billion under the Indian Rupee (INR) swap window. This arrangement will continue till June 2027.