Latest news with #MohamedMuizzu
Arab News
2 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Maldives president hails Makkah Route Initiative as symbol of Saudi Arabia's leadership
RIYADH: President Mohamed Muizzu of the Maldives has hailed Saudi Arabia's Makkah Route Initiative as a symbol of the Kingdom's service to Islam and Muslims. 'Their leadership of the Islamic world represents an exemplary model of giving, unity, and service, not only at the two holy mosques but throughout the entire Islamic world, confirming the Kingdom's pivotal role in leading with wisdom and mercy in serving Islam,' he said at the launch of the initiative in his country recently. Muizzu added: 'For the first time, Maldivian pilgrims will benefit from this pioneering initiative, designed by Saudi Arabia under its wise leadership and generously provided within the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Guests Program emerging from Saudi Vision 2030,' he explained. The initiative enables the completion of all passport, customs and health screening procedures from the departure point — Velana International Airport. Muizzu thanked Saudi Arabia's ministries of interior, Hajj and Umrah, as well as other organizations for their assistance. 'We renew our great gratitude and appreciation for the leadership and people of Saudi Arabia, and look forward to enhancing cooperation and joint work under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and his crown prince for the good of the entire Islamic nation.' The initiative is now operating in eight countries, which includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkiye, Morocco and the Ivory Coast.
Mint
2 days ago
- Business
- Mint
How is ‘Boycott Maldives' faring?
As the 'Boycott Turkey' and 'Boycott Azerbaijan' chorus grows amidst the two countries supporting Pakistan and Pakistan's position on Kashmir, along with arms support from Turkey to Pakistan, a similar situation developed with Maldives in early 2024, when Mohamed Muizzu, the current president of Maldives and then presidential candidate appeared with 'India OUT' T-shirts. The trend was strong, with a few online travel agencies announcing that they had stopped accepting bookings to Maldives, similar to the current stance by Cox & Kings and Ixigo to stop bookings to Turkey. Within weeks of this online outrage, the Prime Minister visited Lakshadweep, which became a new go-to place with investments coming in from multiple hospitality chains, along with additional flights being launched by airlines. A year and more down the line, it turns out that 'Boycott Maldives' has had its effect with Indian nationals visiting Maldives dropping by a staggering 37% in 2024 over 2023. Only 1,30,805 Indians visited Maldives in 2024, compared to 2,09,193 Indians who visited in 2023, shows data released by the Ministry of Tourism, Maldives. In the first quarter of 2025, the traffic from India has further shrunk by 7.9% over the same period in 2024. This comes amidst multiple new hotels being launched in Maldives over the last few years and overall tourism growing by 20% in 2024 for the island country. India now drops to the sixth largest source market for Maldives, with China, Russia and the United Kingdom being the top three. Chinese tourists to Maldives increased by 40% to reach 2,63,340 tourists in 2024. While China was the top source market in 2019, the last full year pre-COVID, India was the second largest back then. Data shared by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article, shows that the connectivity between India and Maldives saw a drop of 17.6% in departures in December 2024, compared to December 2023. This resulted in a 17% reduction in seats. With China, Russia, the United Kingdom, Italy and Germany the top five source markets for Maldives, there remains an opportunity for Indian carriers for transit traffic to the Indian Ocean island. For carriers from India, this has had no impact as they have merely redeployed the capacity on other routes where there is more demand. Indian carriers have been reeling under the supply chain pressures and have not been able to induct as many planes as they would have wanted to, even after taking in a sizable number of aircraft last year. The loss of Maldives has been a gain for Thailand and Malaysia primarily. Both countries started offering free visas on arrival for Indians, similar to Maldives and started attracting Indians in droves. The flights between India and Thailand went up by nearly 40% in both capacity and departures in December 2024 compared to the same month in 2023. Flights between Malaysia and India were up by 21% and included the launch of flights to Penang and Langkawi by India, the two islands in Malaysia known for tourism but offering distinctly different experiences. The sheer size of the population, along with an ever-expanding middle class in India with the affordability to fly, is what is attractive for neighbouring countries to attract tourists from India. Most countries in ASEAN have traditionally been dependent on tourism from China for similar reasons, but were jolted due to China's continued closure of tourist activities, including restrictions on travel outside the country. This led to most countries turning to India to offer attractive packages and offers which could attract tourists from the most populous country. With Maldives, there are already signs of thaw in the relationship between the two countries. The ties between India and Maldives go beyond tourism. The drop in tourists saw airlines cutting down on flights. When it comes to Turkey, IndiGo has already made it clear that their commercial agreements are in line with the Bilateral Air Services Agreement, and there is no violation of any rules. Over five lakh passengers flew each way between India and Turkey in 2024 on non-stop flights, many of them connecting onwards to multiple destinations. Istanbul has always been at the crossroads and has always been an attraction for Indians. Will this change this time around? The airlines will eventually have to either discount the pricing or look for other options if the trend to Boycott Turkey or flying via Turkey continues to be strong.
Saudi Gazette
6 days ago
- Saudi Gazette
Maldives becomes 8th country benefiting from "Makkah Route" Initiative
Saudi Gazette report MALE — Saudi Arabia launched the "Makkah Route" Initiative in the Maldives on Monday, making it the eighth country to benefit from the initiative. The other countries are Morocco, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, and Côte d'Ivoire. Maldives President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu inaugurated the Makkah Route Initiative at Velana International Airport in Male in the presence of Chairman of the "Makkah Route" Supervisory Committee Lt. Gen. Sulaiman Al-Yahya, Maldives Islamic Minister Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed and Acting Chargé d'Affaires at the Saudi Embassy in the Maldives Fahad Al-Dosari. A high-level Saudi delegation, including officials from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as senior officials from the Maldivian government also attended the ceremony. The first group of 234 Maldivian pilgrims under the Makkah Route Initiative left the Male airport for Saudi Arabia. The "Makkah Route" Initiative focuses on facilitating the smooth and seamless completion of all travel procedures for pilgrims from beneficiary countries in their designated embarkation points. These include issuing Hajj visas electronically, taking biometrics, completing entry procedures to the Kingdom from the airport of the country of departure after verifying that the required health requirements are met. The process involves coding and sorting luggage according to transportation and accommodation arrangements in the Kingdom. The passengers are then transferred directly to buses to be transported to their residences in Makkah and Madinah. Partner agencies are responsible for the delivery of their luggage to buses and accommodation of the pilgrims. The Ministry of Interior is implementing the initiative for the seventh year in a row as part of the Doyof Al-Rahman Program, one of the programs of the Kingdom's Vision 2030. This initiative is being implemented in cooperation with the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA), the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority, the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA), the General Authority for Endowments, the Doyof Al-Rahman Program, and the General Directorate of Passports.
Al Jazeera
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Maldives parliament removes two Supreme Court judges
The Parliament of the Maldives has impeached two judges of the country's Supreme Court, deepening a political crisis triggered by President Mohamed Muizzu's push to amend the constitution and strip legislators of their seats if they switch political parties. The Parliament, where the governing People's National Congress holds a supermajority, voted on Wednesday to remove Justices Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir on allegations of abuse of power. The vote, which passed 68 – 11, took place as dozens of opposition supporters rallied outside the Parliament House, calling for Muizzu's resignation and an end to what they called the intimidation of judges. The move comes more than two months after the judicial watchdog, dominated by Muizzu's allies, suspended the two judges and their colleague, Justice Husnu al-Suood. At the time, the seven-member Supreme Court bench had been holding hearings into a petition challenging the anti-defection amendments. Suood later resigned from the top court, accusing Muizzu and Attorney General Ahmed Usham of intimidating all the judges of the Supreme Court to secure a judgement in their favour. The president and his lawyer deny the charges. 'I do not interfere with the judiciary,' Muizzu told reporters during a 14-hour news conference on May 3. 'I have never done so. I do not control the [the judicial watchdog].' The crisis has brought the Maldives's Supreme Court to a near halt, pausing hearings in all ongoing cases, including on the constitutional amendments. It has also raised fears of renewed instability in the Indian Ocean honeymoon destination, which held its first multiparty elections in 2008, but has been roiled by political turmoil since, including a coup d'etat, disputed elections, and the killings and jailing of dissidents. Azmiralda and Mahaz denounced their impeachment. 'This is an attack on the Maldivian judiciary. It is no ordinary matter to bring the Maldives Supreme Court to a halt,' Azmiralda said in a statement. 'My hope is that one day, when the rule of law is established in this country … all of the various officials who took part in destroying the Supreme Court are held accountable.' The case against the two judges stems from the arrest of Azmiralda's husband, Ismail Latheef, during a police raid on a spa where he was receiving a massage in the Maldivian capital, Male, on December 4 of last year. The incident happened two weeks after Muizzu ratified the anti-defection measures. The controversial amendments stipulate that legislators elected on a political party ticket would lose their seat if they switch parties, or if they resign or are expelled from their party. The provisions effectively allow Muizzu to maintain his supermajority in Parliament, where his party controls 79 of the chamber's 93 seats. The president has argued they are necessary to 'improve political stability', but opponents say they would destroy the country's system of checks and balances. At the time of Latheef's arrest, a former member of parliament had filed a petition at the Supreme Court challenging the legality of the amendments, but the bench had yet to decide to take up the case. Latheef was held overnight for more than 12 hours, on charges of soliciting a prostitute, but was released by a judge at the Criminal Court. In the ruling, the judge noted that the masseuse treating Latheef was fully clothed at the time of the raid, and that the room they were in was unlocked. The prosecutor's office later shelved the case against Latheef, citing a lack of evidence. But after the Supreme Court began reviewing the constitutional amendments in February, the watchdog Judicial Services Commission (JSC) took up a separate case against Azmiralda and Mahaz, claiming the two judges had unlawfully lobbied lower court judges to secure Latheef's release. The JSC recommended that the Parliament impeach them last month. The judges have denied the charges, with lawyers for Azmiralda saying that the case was 'manufactured by top government officials to suspend' them 'in order to influence the outcome of the constitutional case before the Supreme Court'. Usham, the Attorney General, has told Al Jazeera that the government 'categorically denies these allegations'. 'There is absolutely no truth to the claim that the executive branch had any hand in the JSC's [the judicial watchdog's] decision,' he wrote in an email. 'The suspension was pursuant to law and… any suggestion of ulterior motives is firmly rejected by the Government.' The case, however, has drawn criticism from the United Nations and rights groups. Margaret Satterthwaite, the UN's special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, expressed grave concern last month over the action against the three judges, saying they appear to be aimed at undermining the Supreme Court's judicial review of the anti-defection measures. 'The disciplinary proceedings brought against three of the Supreme Court's Justices appear to violate the principle that judges can only be dismissed on serious grounds of misconduct or incompetence and in accordance with fair procedures guaranteeing objectivity and impartiality as provided for by the Constitution or the law,' she wrote. 'The pressure of suspensions, disciplinary proceedings and investigations may amount to an interference in the independence of this institution.'
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Defence agreements with India being amended, says Maldives
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu The Maldives on Tuesday said existing defence agreements with India are being amended to ensure they do not compromise the Maldives' sovereignty and independence, media reports said Minister Mohamed Ghassan Maumoon also told Parliament members that 74 Indian soldiers stationed in the Maldives, who were repatriated under an agreement reached with India last year, were unarmed while in the Maldives. Maumoon's statements come days after Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, during a marathon 15 hour press conference, said that there is nothing to worry about the agreements signed by the previous government with other countries, including with comments had drawn criticism from the opposition leader who demanded his apology for making "false claims" during the 2023 election campaign regarding the pacts with nations such as Tuesday, while answering questions raised by Parliament members, Maumoon said, the agreements formed with India as part of long-standing close ties between the two countries had been amended or is being amended "to ensure that they protect the sovereignty and independence of Maldives," according to a report in newsportal Public Service Media (PSM News), the state-run news agency, quoted the minister as saying that since the Maldives gained independence in 1965, more than 100 agreements were signed with India and of those, the defence ministry oversees of the key agreements under review pertained to the development of a naval dockyard at Uthuru Thilafalhu with Indian assistance, the PSM News of the 2023 election and when it was in opposition, the People's National Congress (PNC) led by Muizzu, had criticised aspects of the Uthuru Thila Falhu agreement, claiming that certain provisions conflicted with national minister said such clauses are now being amended, but did not share further details, confidentiality clauses, the minister said the agreements and their amendments could not be made public but said he would disclose them if formally the parliament's Committee on National Security Services requested Maldives and India witnessed a downturn in bilateral ties since pro-China president Muizzu assumed office in November 2023. Within hours of his oath, he had demanded the withdrawal of Indian military personnel from his the Indian military personnel were replaced by civilians in a mutually agreed manner between March and May Tuesday, while addressing questions regarding Indian military personnel in the Maldives, Defence Minister Maumoon confirmed that no Indian forces were currently stationed in the country."Of the 71 Indian personnel previously deployed, all have been repatriated following bilateral discussions, with the final contingent departing on 9 May 2024. Indian soldiers had not carried weapons while stationed in the Maldives," the PSM News quoted the minister as minister also clarified that the Indian military presence had been limited to providing operational support for Dornier aircraft and helicopters operating under India's assistance programme, he said, adding, "The withdrawal was a necessary step to ensure national sovereignty remains uncompromised."Earlier on Saturday, Muizzu, during his marathon press conference, said he was working in line with his pledge to disclose the military agreements and blamed delays on confidentiality issues.
