Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu arrives in India for first bilateral visit

New Delhi: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu and Maldives First Lady Sajida Mohamed arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for their first bilateral visit to India.

During the visit, President Muizzu will hold meetings with President Draupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior officials.

He was welcomed by Union Minister of State for External Affairs Kiriti Vardhan Singh. Mohamed Muizzu is on a visit to India from October 6-10 at the official invitation of President Draupadi Murmu.

Recently, during the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Mohamed Muizzu told ANI that he plans to visit India as soon as possible. He also praised the “very strong” bilateral ties between the two countries.

Mohammed Muizzu told ANI, “I am planning to visit (India) as soon as possible…we have very strong bilateral relations.”

This will be Mohammed Muizzu’s second visit to India after he attended Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony in June this year.

Notably, as per earlier tradition, almost every President of Maldives used to make his first foreign visit to India, but Mohammed Muizzu changed this trend by first visiting Turkey and then China after assuming office.

Since coming to power, the Mohammed Muizzu government has taken several steps that have been unconventional from the point of view of India-Maldives relations. He ran his entire presidential campaign on the lines of ‘India Out’. The removal of Indian troops from the country was the main election campaign of Mohammed Muizzu’s party.

However, recently, Mohammed Muizzu has adopted a conciliatory stance. Relations with India soured, leading to diplomatic disputes. He also expressed gratitude to India for financial assistance and described New Delhi as Male’s ‘closest’ ally.