Modi renews ties with Maldives with offers of infra projects, funds
'India has long stood as the Maldives' closest and most trusted partner', Muizzu said in a banquet speech alongside Modi, whom he met with twice last year. 'We deeply value the friendship of India and are grateful for the timely assistance your country has extended to us in moments of need', Muizzu added.
Shortly after his arrival on Friday, Modi unveiled a $565 million credit line for the Maldives, which is facing a severe foreign exchange shortage despite its thriving tourism industry. India also reduced annual repayments of an earlier credit line from $51 million to $29 million and the two sides discussed a potential free-trade agreement.
Muizzu said the new credit line would bolster the Maldives' security forces and improve healthcare, housing and education.
During his two-day trip, Modi also inaugurated a new defence ministry headquarters and several India-funded infrastructure projects, including roads and a 4,000-unit housing scheme. Modi's visit had set 'a clear path for the future of Maldives-India relations', Muizzu wrote on X on Saturday as the Indian leader left the capital Male after 60th Independence Day celebrations. 'Our relationship continues to grow, shaped by people-to-people ties and cooperation in various sectors', Modi wrote in his own post on X. 'India remains committed to supporting the aspirations of the Maldivian people'.
Known for its luxury tourism and pristine beaches, the Maldives is also a geopolitical hotspot, with key global shipping lanes passing through its 1,192 islands, stretching across 800 kilometres of the equator. China and India are the Maldives' two largest bilateral lenders.
India remains apprehensive about China's growing presence in the Indian Ocean, particularly in the Maldives and neighbouring Sri Lanka. Global east-west shipping lanes pass through the nation's chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands, stretching around 800 kilometres across the equator. India's government has traditionally regarded the Maldives, along with Sri Lanka, to be within its sphere of influence. — AFP
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