New Delhi: Union minister Kiren Rijiju will represent India at the oath-taking ceremony of Maldivian President-elect Mohamed Muizzu on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has announced.
The Maldives had invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the ceremony.
Widely seen as a pro-China leader, Muizzu will take charge as the Maldivian president on Friday.
“At the invitation of the President-elect of Maldives Mohamed Muizzu, Kiren Rijiju, Minister of Earth Sciences will visit Maldives from 16-18 November to represent India at the inaugural ceremony of the presidency,” the MEA said.
It said the high-level ministerial representation at the inaugural ceremony underscores India’s commitment to further deepening the substantive cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries.
“Maldives is India’s key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean region and occupies a special place in the prime minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’,” the MEA said in a statement.
Muizzu defeated incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in the presidential runoff in September.
The Maldives is one of India’s key maritime neighbours in the Indian Ocean region and the overall bilateral ties, including in the areas of defence and security, have been on an upward trajectory in the last few years.
Solih was consistently focusing on boosting ties with India and pursuing an “India First” policy.
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