"Big Heart...": Eye On Past Storm, Ex- Maldives Minister Praises India, PM

NDTV

12 hours ago

New Delhi:
A year on from the India-Maldives diplomatic storm - precipitated by comments about Prime Minister Narendra Modi by three Maldivian ministers, and geopolitical red flags after the island nation seemed to getting friendlier towards China - ties between the nations appear to have been reset.
Mr Modi will visit Male - the first foreign head of state to be hosted by President Mohamed Muizzu - on July 25 and 26 to inaugurate development projects funded by India, and after the Indian government extended crucial financial support by rolling over the $US 50 million Treasury bill for another year.
He will also celebrate the country's Independence Day and hold bilateral talks with Mr Muizzu, which will certainly include sounding Male out over national security concerns in the Indian Ocean Region.
Ahead of his visit, Maldives' ex-Foreign Minister, Abdulla Shahid, hailed the past relationship between the countries and India's history as a reliable first responder in times of emergency.
"The relationship between Maldives and India has always demonstrated India is the first responder. Whenever we dial the international line India responds, first," he said.
"This is for many reasons. First and foremost, because Indian people have a big heart... they are most generous. Second, India is so close to Maldives, geographically. Whenever anything urgent and distressful happens in Maldives, India has never let us down..." Mr Shahid said.
Former Maldives President Mohamed Nasheed made similar comments, pointing to his country's recent economic concerns and saying, "If not for India, we would have gone default."
"We have always maintained an India-first foreign policy but in the past, election cycles have sometimes caused us to swing between a pro-China stance and a pro-India stance," he said.
Mr Nasheed's 'pro-China stance' comment was seen as a direct jab at his successor, Mohamed Muizzu, who has been seen as favouring Beijing over Delhi in his foreign policy matters.
Scheduled for after the trip to the United Kingdom, where an India-UK free trade deal will be signed, the Maldives visit is key, a point underlined by Mr Shahid.
"Despite the diplomatic tension, India decided that its relationship (with Maldives) is people-to-people... governments come and go and political parties change, but the relationship that exists between our two people is on a solid foundation and has never changed," he said.
India and the Maldives share ethnic, linguistic, cultural, religious, and commercial links dating back centuries. And Delhi was among the first to recognise Male after it secured independence.
But all of that closeness was threatened in November 2023 after Mr Muizzu was elected on the back of a 'India, out' platform that highlighted the removal of Indian military personnel deployed there.
And increasingly friendly ties with China - a Chinese spy ship masquerading as a research vessel was allowed to dock in February 2024 and Mr Muizzu travelled to Beijing to call for more Chinese tourists to his country, a move seen as a snub to Indians - raised red flags in Delhi.
Mr Muizzu, however, continued to insist that India remains a key partner in efforts to secure regional stability, and that he was only working to ensure more opportunities for Maldives.
Fortunately, after months of unease, ties began to improve, beginning with Foreign Minister S Jaishankar's visit to that country in August last year and the Maldives leader's visit to Delhi in October.
Mr Muizzu met PM Modi on that trip, and told an English daily, "The Maldives will never do anything to undermine the security of India. While we enhance cooperation with other countries... we remain committed to ensuring our actions do not compromise the security and stability of our region..."