On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Maldives to attend the swearing-in ceremony of the new president. During the meet Narendra Modi will attempt to mend bilateral ties, which had earlier nosedived under the outgoing Abdulla Yameen government. This is Namrendra Modi’s first visit to the country as Prime Minister.
On Froday, PM Modi Friday took to Twitter to inform that he will be attending the inauguration ceremony of Maldives President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
He wrote, “I will be in Malé tomorrow to attend the historic Inauguration Ceremony of the President-elect H.E. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. I warmly congratulate him on his victory in the recent elections and wish him the very best for his tenure.”
while expressing his desire to see a stable and democratic government in Male, the Prime Minister also added, “Recent elections in The Maldives represent the collective aspirations of the people for democracy, rule of law and a prosperous future. We in India strongly desire to see a stable, democratic, prosperous and peaceful Republic of Maldives.”
He further added, “India and The Maldives share a strong partnership rooted in history, strong bonds between our peoples, and their shared aspiration for peace and prosperity. My Government’s vision of inclusive development ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas’ extends to all our neighbours too.”
PM Modi also informed that he will convey to Solih his wish to work with the new Maldives government in different areas to boost ties. “I will convey to the new Maldivian Government of Mr. Solih the desire of the Indian Government to work closely for the realisation of their developmental priorities, especially in areas of infrastructure, health care, connectivity & human resource development,” he further added that he is confident that his visit will herald a new era of even closer exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.
While announcing Modi’s daylong visit last week, Raveesh Kumar- Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson had said that, PM has accepted president-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s invitation to attend the ceremony and made it clear that it is not a ‘bilateral visit’.
Ties between India and the Maldives had strained under Yameen who was perceived to be close to China. Some decisions made by Yameen, including the imposition of restrictions on work visas for Indians and signing of a new Free Trade Agreement with Beijing, also did not go down well with New Delhi. The relations between the two countries deteriorated further after Yameen imposed emergency on February 5 this year. The political emergency which had lasted for 45 days, was severly critised by the India and asked his government to restore the credibility of the electoral and political process by releasing political prisoners.
On September 23 this year, the Presidential elections were held in Male, in which joint opposition leader Solih defeated Yameen.
Also read: Telangana Assembly elections: Congress releases third list, drops M Kodandaram