Relations recalibrated on India's terms, Maldives accords memorable welcome to PM Modi

Male, July 25 In a powerful display of India–Maldives friendship and mutual respect, a giant portrait of Prime Minister Narendra Modi graced the Maldives Defence Ministry building in Male as PM Modi began his two-day State Visit to the Indian Ocean archipelago, on Friday.

This is Prime Minister Modi's third visit to Maldives - he had visited the Indian Ocean archipelago in 2018 and 2019, earlier - and the first by a Head of State or Government to Maldives during the Presidency of Mohamed Muizzu which began in November 2023.

On Saturday, Prime Minister Modi will also be the 'Guest of Honour' at the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Independence of Maldives with 2025 also marking 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations between both countries.

Muizzu, who had only two years ago ran on an 'India Out' campaign before coming to power, had travelled to the airport along with this top ministers on Saturday morning to welcome PM Modi as he arrived from the United Kingdom.

"Landed in Male. 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," PM Modi posted on X.

Even though Muizzu’s election campaign was anything but friendly towards India, PM Modi was the first world leader to congratulate him after his triumph in the elections. Muizzu was also invited to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new government in New Delhi, last year.

The two leaders had also met on the sidelines of the COP meeting in Dubai and later, President Muizzu undertook a State Visit to India in October 2024.

Analysts reckon that India's response involved no knee-jerk measures but was quiet and understated.

"India played its cards and waited for the Maldives to play theirs. Maldives tried, in all probability. But soon realised that in the marketplace of friends, there was no one who could match what India brings to the table. There's a basic truth in the Indian Ocean: when something goes wrong—cyclone, pandemic, piracy, food shortage; it's India that shows up," a former diplomat emphasised.

"Delhi also avoided the classic pitfall: treating a smaller neighbour like a problematic client. There was no visible arm-twisting. No pressure campaigns. Just strategic bandwidth, quiet confidence, and an open hand of friendship," he added.

The result is quite visible now as both India and the Maldives are now having discussions to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement and an investment treaty.

"The relationship with the Maldives is comprehensive and multifaceted. It's been paid attention to by leadership at the highest levels and we believe that this visit by the Prime Minister will contribute further to consolidating these strong ties and contribute to peace, prosperity and security in the Indian Ocean Region that both of us inhabit," Foreign Secretary Misri stated during a special media briefing held in New Delhi on Tuesday ahead of PM Modi's two-nation visit.

As both leaders take stock of the progress in the implementation of the India-Maldives Joint Vision for a 'Comprehensive Economic and Maritime Security Partnership', adopted during the State Visit of the President of Maldives to India in October 2024, PM Modi will also inaugurate several infrastructure projects and announce new initiatives during his visit, reflecting the importance New Delhi attaches to its maritime neighbour which continues to hold a special place in India's 'Neighbourhood First' policy and Vision MAHASAGAR.

"We have always been the first on hand to respond to the needs of Maldives in times whenever it has faced crisis, natural or man-made. There has been a robust, political relationship which has been bolstered by regular visits at high-levels," Misri had stated.

"This joint vision, in a sense, has become the guiding framework for our ties. This year already, in the first six months, we have seen nearly half a dozen ministerial level visits from the Maldives. The speaker of the Maldives Parliament visited India. In fact, the very first engagement this year that the External Affairs Minister held was with the Foreign Minister of Maldives," he mentioned.

India is one of the largest trading partners of the Maldives and the bilateral trade currently stands at nearly 500 million dollars.

"On the economic front, one recent development which I would like to share with you is that both countries are in discussions to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement and an investment treaty as well and new areas of cooperation including renewable energy, fisheries etc are also being worked on. One of the largest areas of bilateral cooperation is the development partnership between the two countries. India has been a traditional development partner of the Maldives, executing various initiatives through a mix of Lines of Credit at concessional rates, grants, buyers credit facilities, as also conducting capacity building programmes in a number of areas.

"The flagship project that is underway currently is the Greater Male connectivity project which has the potential to be an infrastructure gamechanger in the Greater Male region, connecting four islands of the Maldives. There are also projects underway in the area of roads, airports, fisheries, processing units and others. We are also alleviating the pressure by helping with social housing as per the needs and priorities of Maldives."

The Foreign Secretary also mentioned India's financial assistance to Maldives government through instruments like twin currency swap arrangements. The Foreign Secretary stated that Maldives is one of largest beneficiaries of India's capacity building programmes.

"We also have between the two countries a robust defence and security cooperation. India continues to assist Maldives in building its capacity, training Maldives defence personnel and a lot of this is done through regular training programmes, naval exercises between the two countries. We've been helping Maldives enhance its capacity for EZ surveillance and maritime domain awareness through the provision of ships and assets and the two countries are also cooperating under the ambit of the Colombo Security Conclave," the Foreign Secretary said.

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