Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu in Malé on Friday, marking a significant reset in bilateral ties. They discussed trade, defence, and infrastructure cooperation. India announced a Line of Credit of Rs 4850 crore and plans for a Free Trade Agreement, despite recent tensions under Muizzu’s “India Out” campaign.
PM Narendra Modi (left) shakes hands with Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu during their meeting in Male on Friday. PIC/PTI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday held wide-ranging talks with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, focusing on consolidating cooperation in areas of trade, defence and infrastructure, marking a major turnaround in the ties after a spell of unease. Modi landed in Male Friday morning to a warm welcome with Muizzu and a number of top ministers of his government receiving the prime minister at the Velena international airport, reflecting the importance Male attached to the trip.
Hours later, Modi was accorded a colourful ceremonial welcome and a guard of honour at the iconic Republic Square. “Deeply touched by the gesture of President Muizzu to come to the airport to welcome me. I am confident that India-Maldives friendship will scale new heights of progress in the times to come,” Modi said in a social media post.
The two leaders held a one-on-one meeting before settling down for delegation-level talks. The turnaround in the bilateral ties assumes significance as Muizzu, known to be close to China, came to power in the island nation in November 2023 on the back of an “India Out” campaign.
His policies in the first few months of his presidency resulted in severe strain in the ties. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his country. Subsequently, India replaced the personnel with civilians. The Indian military personnel were deployed to the Maldives to maintain and operate two helicopters and an aircraft, which were used for humanitarian and rescue operations.
Following their talks, the two countries announced the initiation of negotiations for the launch of a Free Trade Agreement (IMFTA) in which India extended the Line of Credit (LoC) of Rs 4850 crores to Maldives.
Muizzu said, “The PM’s visit coincides with two cherished occasions. Tomorrow, PM Modi will join me in the 60th Independence Day celebrations of the Maldives. Today, we have jointly released a commemorative stamp to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of formal diplomatic relations between the Maldives and India. This afternoon, PM Modi and I had extensive discussions.” The Maldivian President said that the resources from MoUs will be used for utilisation of Maldives government across key sectors.
“PM Modi and I had the honour of witnessing the signing of four MoUs and three agreements on several key areas. Among these is a line of credit agreement for $565 million. This will be utilised for priority projects of my government across key sectors,” he said. The Maldives is one of India's key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean Region and the overall bilateral ties, including in areas of defence and security, witnessed an upward trajectory under the previous governments in Male.
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