Maldives President Muizzoo and Foreign Minister Musa Zameer (File)
– Photo: ANI
Expansion
Maldives Foreign Minister Musa Zameer reached New Delhi on Wednesday night amid the diplomatic deadlock. On Thursday, he will meet External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, in which both the leaders will discuss bilateral and regional issues. The Ministry of External Affairs said in a social media post that Foreign Minister Musa Zameer is welcome on his official visit to India. During his visit, bilateral and regional issues between the two countries and ways to accelerate our multi-dimensional relations will be discussed. The ministry said Maldives is India’s major maritime neighbor in the Indian Ocean region and the visit of Foreign Minister Zameer is expected to give further impetus to bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
Maldives Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer tweets, “Arrived in New Delhi on my first bilateral official visit to India! Looking forward to productive discussions, strengthening ties, and experiencing the vibrant culture of India” pic.twitter.com/VVPJmq3uPO
— ANI (@ANI) May 8, 2024
Foreign Minister Musa Zameer is on his first visit to India as part of efforts to strengthen relations between Maldives and India. The purpose of this visit is to further strengthen long-term relations with India. Jamir’s visit comes at a time when India has to withdraw its military personnel from Maldives by May 10. In this regard, the fourth meeting of the high level core group of India and Maldives was held on 3 May. It is noteworthy that soon after becoming the President of Maldives, Mohammed Muizzu had asked India to withdraw its military personnel, who were operating three aviation platforms there. The first batch of Indian military personnel has also returned.
Musa’s visit is also important in this sense because in the last few months, relations between India and Maldives have become tense. On the other hand, the President of Maldives resorted to slogans like ‘India Out’ in his election campaign, while on the other hand, his ministers made objectionable comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Lakshadweep. After this, Maldives, a tourism based country, had to face strong opposition on social media. Muizzu’s visit to China, which was facing criticism for his inclination towards China, was also in the news. Even during this tour, he had given a statement like ‘not bowing down before anyone’ without taking the name of India.