Maldives leader in India to fix relations
NEW DELHI — The Maldives' President Mohamed Muizzu was given a red-carpet welcome on his first state visit to India on Monday, a trip that Prime Minister Narendra Modi said marked a «new chapter» to reset their countries' troubled ties.
Pro-China Muizzu came to power a year ago on a promise to evict dozens of Indian troops deployed in his small but strategically located archipelago.
Most South Asian leaders are invited to the Indian capital New Delhi soon after they assume office, but it has taken almost a year for India to accord Muizzu a state visit.
India, however, on Monday rolled out a financial support to bolster Male's struggling economy, with Muizzu and Modi discussing «energy, trade, financial linkages and defense cooperation,» New Delhi's Foreign Ministry said.
«Your visit is a new chapter in our ties,» Modi told Muizzu, who was given an honor guard, including cavalry and a marching band. «India will always be there for the progress and prosperity of the people of Maldives.»
Muizzu, 46, in a speech alongside Modi that included the virtual inauguration of an Indian-supported airport runway and social housing, said he had held «extensive discussions… charting a path for the future collaboration between our two countries.»
He also thanked India for budgetary support «instrumental in addressing foreign exchange issues,» including a 30-billion-rupee ($357-million) package, plus a $400-million currency swap agreement.
AdvertisementIndia met Muizzu's May deadline to withdraw a contingent of 78 soldiers stationed in the Maldives to operate two helicopters and a fixed-wing plane.
However, the aircraft remained and are being operated by a civilian Indian crew.
«What I did is what the people of Maldives asked from me,» Muizzu said, in an interview in the Times of India published on Monday.
«Maldives would never do anything that undermines the security of India,» he told the newspaper.
Advertisement«While we enhance our cooperation with other countries in various sectors, we remain committed to ensuring that our actions do not compromise the security and stability of our region.»
'Line of credit'
China and India are the two largest bilateral lenders to the Maldives,
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