Maldives President Muizzu departs on inaugural bilateral visit to India

Male: Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu departed on a State visit to India on Sunday, along with first lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed, the country’s President office said.

It is pertinent to note that this is Muizzu’s inaugural bilateral visit to India. “President His Excellency Dr @MMuizzu and First Lady Madam Sajidha Mohamed depart on a State Visit to the Republic of India,” the President’s office of Maldives said in a post on X.

“This visit is made at the invitation of Her Excellency Droupadi Murmu, President of India, and marks President Muizzu’s inaugural bilateral visit to India,” the post added.

Recently, on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, Muizzu told ANI, that he is planning to visit India as soon as possible. He also praised the “very strong” bilateral relationship between the two countries.”

“I am planning to visit (India) as soon as possible…We have a very strong bilateral relationship,” Muizzu told ANI. This will notably be the second time that Muizzu is visiting India this year after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this June .

Earlier almost every Maldivian President used to make his first foreign visit to India, but Muizzu changed the trend by first visiting Turkiye and then China, after assuming office.

The Mohamed Muizzu government in the Maldives took a reconciliatory tone after ties with India soured, leading to a diplomatic row. Since coming to power, Muizzu has taken several steps that have been unconventional from the point of view of India-Maldives ties. He ran his whole presidential campaign on the lines of ‘India Out’. The removal of Indian troops from the country was the main election campaign of Muizzu’s party.