President: Committed to further strengthening ties with India in all sectors in the future

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has affirmed commitment to further strengthen ties with India across a broad range of sectors in the future.

The President made the remark during a joint statement delivered along with Indian Prime Minister Modi on Friday evening, following bilateral talks between the two as part of the PM’s ongoing state visit to the Maldives.

In his remarks, President Muizzu described the people-to-people connections as the foundation of the longstanding relations between Maldives and India. As such, he affirmed Maldives’ full commitment to further strengthen ties with India in the future, across a broad range of sectors, through high-level visits.

“Looking ahead, we are fully committed to further strengthen our cooperation with India across a broad range of sectors through exchange of high-level visits,” he said.

Elected to office on a pledge to expel Indian troops from the Maldives, relations between Male’ and New Delhi had been strained in the early days of President Muizzu’s administration.

Things escalated further three months into the office when three 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.

Speaking to reporters after concluding a state visit to China the same month, President Muizzu said that Maldives wasn’t any country’s backyard and that the country cannot be bullied just because its small – remarks that were widely believed to be directed at India.

But despite the earlier turmoil, officials from both Male’ and Delhi repeatedly expressed keenness to repairing relations, and engaged in several high-level visits, including two by President Muizzu himself.

The visit by Modi, which marks his third visit to the Maldives but his first during President Muizzu’s administration, is expected to cement the ties between Male’ and New Delhi.