- In August 2022, the president of the Maldives, Ibrahim Solih, visited India. During the visit, he mentioned that the Maldives will always maintain the “India First” policy.
India – Maldives relations:
Ibrahim Solih, the president of the Maldives, will visit India in August 2022. During his visit, he stated that the Maldives will always follow an “India First” policy.
Relations between India and the Maldives:
India and the Maldives share a border. Since the Maldives’ independence from the British in 1965, India and the Maldives have maintained cordial relations.
India has aided the Maldives in several crises, including the 1988 coup attempt, the 2004 tsunami, the 2014 water crisis, and, most recently, the COVID pandemic.
The Maldives achieves food security through imports from India.
India is investing in Maldive infrastructure projects.
Both countries are cooperating in the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism.
The Maldives’ economy is heavily reliant on fishing and tourism.
However, tensions in bilateral relations between India and the Maldives arose when the Maldives’ president, China-friendly Abdulla Yameen, took office in 2013.
Ibrahim Solih was elected President of the Maldives in 2018, and bilateral relations have returned to normal.
In 2020, Abdulla Yameen, the former president of the Maldives, launched the China-backed ‘India Out’ campaign in the country, which is based on misinformation and false propaganda and aims to disrupt bilateral relations. This campaign was opposed by the Maldives’ ruling party and other major parties. The campaign was banned by Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in April 2022.