Prime Minister Modi to be ‘Guest Of Honour’ at 60th Independence Day Celebrations of Maldives

New Delhi, July 22 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the ‘Guest of Honour’ at the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Independence of Maldives on July 26, during his two-day state visit to the Indian Ocean island nation.

PM Modi’ State visit to Maldives is from July 25 – 26. This will be Prime Minister’s third visit to Maldives, and the first visit by a Head of State or Government to Maldives during the Presidency of Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

The visit is being seen as a major reset in the India-Maldives ties, as during the initial months of the tenure of President Muizzu, amid the backdrop of his anti-India domestic politics and an open China-leaning foreign policy, the bilateral relations had seen may ups and downs.

Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, answering queries on the turnaround in India-Maldives bilateral ties, said, “It’s a question of working hard at a relationship.

There will always be events that will impact or try to include on the relationship, but I think this is testimony to the kind of attention that has been paid to the relationship, and including attention at the highest levels that has been paid to the relationship. We continue to work at it, and I think the result is there for you to see.”

Hinting at the announcements to be made during PM Modi’s Male visit, Misri said, “There are a number of initiatives that are being looked at and during the visit. Please stay tuned.

There are likely to be further announcements related to the development partnership itself, on consulates in each other’s countries.

These matters continue to be discussed between the two sides.”
Following a diplomatic row in January 2024, sparked by derogatory remarks by Maldivian officials against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s promotion of Lakshadweep, Indian tourist arrivals dropped by 37.47% in 2024 (1.30 lakh compared to 2.09 lakh in 2023)

To counter this, the Maldives launched a “Welcome India” campaign, including roadshows in Mumbai and Bengaluru to promote the Maldives as a tourist destination.

India also engaged in discussions to facilitate more Indian tourists, such as improving payment systems like UPI for Indian tourists to make seamless digital payments, enhancing convenience and encouraging travel. This was part of the broader economic cooperation discussed during the visit of President Muizzu last year.

India is one of the largest trading partners of the Maldives with bilateral trade at nearly $500 million. Both countries are in discussions to negotiate a free trading agreement and an investment treaty as well. The two sides are also looking at new areas of cooperation, including renewable energy, fisheries, Infrastructure development projects in Maldives.

During the visit of President Muizzu to India in October 2024 the two leaders adopted a Joint Vision for an India-Maldives, Comprehensive Economic and Security Partnership.

India had extended considerable market emergency financial assistance to the Maldivian government to sail through a critical time of depleting foreign reserve through instruments such as the twin currency swap arrangements that was done during the visit of President Muizzu.

India provided a $400 million currency swap agreement and an additional Rs 30 billion (approximately $357 million) under another swap deal to bolster the Maldives’ depleting foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $440 million, barely sufficient for 1.5 months of imports.

The State Bank of India rolled over $100 million in Treasury Bills for another year, following earlier rollovers in May and September 2024, providing emergency financial relief to prevent a potential debt default.