Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu will make a five-day state visit to India on October 6-10 after Indian President Droupadi Murmu invited him formally. That would be the first bilateral visit of President Muizzu since his assumption to presidency and during which he is due to meet President Murmu, PM Modi, and other high-ranking officials in India.
In the early months of this year, President Muizzu was present during Prime Minister Modi's swearing-in ceremony in India and had met him earlier at the COP28 summit in Dubai. According to the Maldives President's Office, "President Dr Muizzu continues to strengthen bilateral relations with nations that Maldives has a crucial interest in the development and growth of the Maldives. This move will keep foreign policy vibrant and active for the nation. Bilateral cooperation will be discussed to further strengthen this bilateral relationship between the two countries.".
This visit is important for India because it upholds the importance India attaches to its relations with the Maldives. It is expected to further strengthen cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries," says a statement of MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal.
In August, S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, paid an official visit of three days to the Maldives, his first overseas visit after taking charge in June this year. S Jaishankar had last visited the Maldives in January 2023, as India continues to regard the island nation as integral to its 'Neighbourhood First' and 'SAGAR' initiatives, standing for 'Security and Growth for All in the Region'.
This is a testimony to the fact that India attaches great importance to its relations with the Maldives, following on the heels of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar's visit to the Maldives," the MEA said. While relations between Maldives and India have been downbeat since Muizzu's campaign for elections on an 'India Out' platform, India has been one of the vital donors of development aid to the Maldives, where thousands have been availed of Indian-funded projects. His visit assumes importance as he had sought an Indian unilateral withdrawal of military personnel from the Maldives as soon as he took office.
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