Rijiju meets Maldives' new President Muizzu; reiterates India's commitment to further bolster bilateral ties

Male: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju on Saturday met the new Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and reiterated India's commitment to further strengthen the substantive bilateral cooperation and robust people-to-people ties.

Rijiju also conveyed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's greetings to President Muizzu.

Muizzu, 45, took oath on Friday as the eighth president of the strategically-located archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. Underscoring India's Neighbourhood First Policy', Rijiju represented the country at Muizzu's inauguration ceremony.

"Privileged to call on President H.E. Dr. Mohamed Muizzu. Conveyed greetings from Hon'ble PM @NarendraModi and reiterated India's commitment to further strengthen the substantive bilateral cooperation and robust people-to-people ties," Rijiju posted on X after the meeting.

Rijiju was accompanied by Munu Mahawar, India's High Commissioner to Maldives, and other officials from the Indian High Commission. The new Maldivian Foreign Minister Moosa Zameer and other officials from the host country were present on the occasion.

A close associate of former Maldives President Abdulla Yameen, who forged close ties with China during his Presidency from 2013 to 2018, Muizzu defeated India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the presidential runoff held in September. Muizzu had indicated during the election campaign that the withdrawal of Indian military troops from the island nation is among the issues that need to be resolved by the two countries.

Soon after the oath-taking on Friday, Muizzu asserted that he was firmly committed to ensuring that his country remains "free" of any "foreign military presence" to preserve its independence and sovereignty. However, he did not name any country in his inaugural address.

Maldives is India's key maritime neighbour in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) 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.'

Maldives' proximity to the west coast of India (barely 70 nautical miles away from Minicoy and 300 nautical miles away from India's West coast), and its situation at the hub of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean gives it significant strategic importance to India.

India was the first to assist Maldives during the 2004 Tsunami as well as the water crisis in Male in December 2014.

Meanwhile, the new Foreign Minister of Maldives Zameer told his Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar, that he looks forward to working together "on issues of mutual interest."

"I look forward to working with you on issues of mutual interest and concern, and to recalibrate and advance the time-tested relationship between our two countries for the betterment of our people," Zameer had replied to Jaishankar's tweet congratulating him for his new post.

Zameer had earlier received Rijiju on November 16 at the Male airport.

"This high-level Ministerial representation from India at the inaugural ceremony underscores India's commitment to further deepen the substantive cooperation and robust people-to-people ties between the two countries," India's Ministry of External Affairs had said prior to the Union Minister's visit to the island nation.

Rijiju also visited a 4,000 social housing units project at Hulhumale in Maldives, where, India's Exim Bank and NBCC (India) Limited, an infra-construction company under the government of India's Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, and a private Indian company has partnered with government of Maldives to provide affordable and inclusive housing for all.

Earlier, late on Friday evening, Rijiju also attended the inaugural reception, hosted by President Muizzu and First Lady Sajidha Mohamed for the visiting dignitaries at Kurumba Maldives after the oath-taking ceremony.

Thanks to H.E. President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu @MMuizzu for hosting an official banquet for the dignitaries and provided us a glimpse of the famed Maldivian hospitality," he posted on X with colourful photos from the event.