Discussions held with India on new avenues for economic cooperation

Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed has held discussions with India’s Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on exploring new opportunities for economic cooperation.

The discussions were held during a meeting between the two at the Economic Ministry as part of Barthwal’s ongoing visit to Maldives.

Economic Ministry, via a post on X, said Minister Saeed and Barthwal discussed ongoing initiatives aimed at deepening trade and investment ties between Maldives and India.

Minister Saeed described the discussions as “productive” in a post on X, adding that the discussions centered on trade and investment partnerships between both nations and exploring new opportunities for economic cooperation.

Had a productive meeting today with India’s Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal. We discussed strengthening trade and investment partnerships between our nations and exploring new opportunities for economic cooperation. pic.twitter.com/TgCTksQ3Tc

— Mohamed Saeed (@em_saeed) July 3, 2025

Relations between Male’ and New Delhi had been strained in the early days of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu Muizzu’s presidency, who had come to power on the promise of removing Indian troops based in the Maldives.

Things escalated further after three Maldivian deputy ministers made disparaging remarks regarding India and Indian Prime Minister Modi following a social media post promoting India’s Lakshadweep as an alternative tourist destination to the Maldives. This birthed a campaign in India, calling to boycott Maldivian tourism.

Despite the turmoil, officials from both Male’ and Delhi repeatedly expressed keenness to maintain relations and engaged in several high-level visits to mend the strains.

This included a visit to India by President Muizzu to attend Modi’s inauguration for a third term, followed by an official state visit by the Maldivian leader not long after.

India is one of Maldives’ closest allies that continues to provide significant assistance to the Maldives. In this regard, many projects are underway across the Maldives with assistance from India.