New Delhi: In the first signs of a thaw in defence cooperation after months of acrimonious relations between India and Maldives, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will hold delegation-level talks with visiting Maldivian counterpart Mohammed Ghassan Maumoon in New Delhi Wednesday.
The Maldivian minister will also visit the Mumbai-based Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL) and the Goa Shipyard during his three-day stay in the country.
Government sources said India was keen to hear what Maldives needed on the defence and security front. They underlined that Maldives was not just a neighbour but a strategic partner of India.
Asked what India was looking to gain from the visit, a source said, “This trip is about what Maldives wants. We will hear what they have to say and will try to meet their expectations.”
Sources said the visit was seen as calming ties that had heated up after Mohamed Muizzu assumed the presidency at the end of 2023, winning on an ‘India Out’ campaign.
The Maldivian president had chosen Turkey for his first official visit, and not India, as has been the practice for decades. He followed that up with a visit to China.
With Ankara, Muizzu signed a $37-million deal for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and requested food imports to change Maldives’ security partnership with India. In China, he sought investments for mega infrastructure projects and signed over 20 memorandums of understanding (MoUs).
Meanwhile with India, he was adamant about removing unarmed Indian officers, who were present in the island country on the request of Malé to operate three aviation platforms.
However, the country’s economic situation has significantly deteriorated. By May last year, the Maldivian government was urging New Delhi to roll over a $50 million loan, making a special request to “secure budgetary support”.
India did so, which helped clear the air. Here is a detailed report about how ties between the two countries have been.
Sources explained the Maldivian defence minister was visiting the Indian shipyards to see how cooperation could be strengthened further.
The Indian defence ministry issued a statement saying the two ministers would review various facets of bilateral defence cooperation including training, regular exercises, defence projects, workshops and seminars to enhance the capability of the Maldives National Defence Forces as well as supply defence equipment and stores.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)
Also read: India a ‘first responder’ for Maldives. How ties between the 2 nations have evolved in the past year